Key biodiversity areas are places of international importance for their biological diversity. Their conservation is often achieved through protected area networks and other mechanisms. They are identifed nationally using simple, standardized criteria, based on their importance in maintaining habitats and populations of species. This book is the culmination of an effort that began in 2004 in Iraq. The Key Biodiversity Areas Program involved more than six years of fieldwork throughout the country and required the combined efforts of hundreds of Iraqi and international conservationists for the data collection and analysis work. A new generation of Iraqi environmentalists were trained and reconnected with their peers across the globe through this effort. Despite war and social conflict, the Key Biodiversity Areas of Iraq will be the starting point for national-level conservation planning. Governments, intergovernmental institutions, NGOs, the private sector and other stakeholders can use the key biodiversity areas identifed in this work as the building blocks for the conservation of national networks of internationally important sites.