Saving the small things that run the planetImportant Invertebrate Areas (IIAs) are places that are home to nationally or internationally significant invertebrate populations and their habitats. They include diverse species from beetles and moths to freshwater shrimps and woodlice, and habitats from the shoreline, along rivers and to the uplands. (Gweld y dudalen hon yn Gymraeg)
Great Britain is home to over 40,000 invertebrate species. They are vital to our lives, underpinning the ecosystem services which provide us with food, fertile soils and clean water, and the wildlife-rich habitats which we all enjoy. However, many invertebrates are declining, making it more important than ever to enable sustainable populations of invertebrates and prevent extinctions. To secure a better future of our invertebrate populations, it is essential to know where our most threatened species and assemblages live. We need Important Invertebrate Areas.
There are over 100 IIAs in England, Scotland and Wales, from tiny Lundy and Great Orme, through to expansive well-known landscapes like the South Downs, Cairngorms and Eryri. All of them are home to special species or assemblages of species. They deserve to be protected and managed in the right way to enable their wildlife riches to survive and thrive.
Why not explore the IIA map below to see what IIAs are near you? Zooming in on the map will display all of the IIAs that we have already mapped in detail. By clicking on an IIA you can download the map and a profile of the IIA that will tell you more about its species, habitats and threats, if one already been completed. (Please note: if squares remain, then the finer detail of that IIA is yet to be mapped.)
To date we have mapped 66 of our IIAs in detail, and new profiles are being uploaded regularly. Over the coming years a complete network of maps and profiles will be made available so do please keep checking for updates.
(Due to the amount of data held within the map it can take a few moments to load correctly, please be patient to allow for any delays which may occur)
The IIA maps, Shapefiles, .kmz files and associated outputs are licenced for use by Buglife under Creative Commons: Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY4. Access and download IIA Shapefiles on Buglife’s GIS Data Hub.
Important Invertebrate Areas have been funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, People’s Postcode Local Trust, Big Give’s Green Match Fund and Natural England and would not be possible without the continued expertise and support of the national recording schemes.
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