Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are sites that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity. The purpose of the Guidelines for using A Global Standard for the Identification of Key Biodiversity Areas is to ensure that KBA identification is based on consistent, scientifically rigorous yet practical methods. These KBA Guidelines provide an overview of the steps for identifying and delineating KBAs, together with explanation of how the KBA criteria, thresholds and delineation procedures should be applied in practice. The KBA Guidelines should be used hand-in-hand with the KBA Standard.