Identifying and conserving areas of particular importance for biodiversity is a fundamental element of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). There are a number of standardised approaches for identifying areas of particular importance for biodiversity in the marine realm: Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs), Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs), Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs), and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), with a standard for Important Marine Turtle Areas (IMTAs) also nearing completion. This document provides a brief summary of these approaches — highlighting the biodiversity considered, identification process, and outputs — and showcases how they can be used to inform GBF planning.
