About BirdLife International
Birds link cultures, people and conservation issues. Birds are part of biodiversity and societies value birds for economic, cultural, ethical and spiritual reasons.
The birdwatching industry is a growing economic force and conserving birds clearly has great economic benefits. Birds also tell us about the habitats on which we all depend. Birds are indicators of biodiversity and the health of the environment.
The world's birds are facing an unprecedented crisis where one bird in eight could join the extinction list in the next century.
Threatened birds occur throughout the world and main threats are habitat destruction, introduced species and exploitation. The decline of many common bird species also indicates habitat deterioration and unsustainable practices.
A tiny proportion of the earth's surface hosts a high number of unique species; these are the Endemic Bird Areas. Some places are particularly important either for threatened species, because large concentrations of birds are found there, for the unique species found there or for being representative of distinct habitats.
Approximately 20,000 of these sites are being identified worldwide. These are BirdLife's Important Bird Areas (IBAs). The BirdLife Partnership is identifying and monitoring IBAs and takes action for their protection. Good data are needed for good planning and in order to promote effective action for species and action for sites.
Biodiversity and people share benefits and the involvement of local communities is critical to achieve long term conservation results alongside improved livelihood.
BirdLife gathers information and data on birds and their key habitats, and works globally to promote objective and informed decision-making through sound conservation and international legal mechanisms.
Local decision-making can protect both species and sites and many BirdLife Partners have been successfully lobbying for specific sites and the wider environment. People's support is critical and public awareness and local support creates incentive for change.
BirdLife works to direct attitudes and practices towards sustainability and the Partnership is very active in involving young people and investing in the development of educational programmes.
This is the BirdLife Partnership approach - how we work. Together for birds and people - looking ahead with a vision.
Our history
For over 35 years the Natural History Museum was the focal point of the International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP), where Miss Phyllis Barclay-Smith was a forceful advocate for birds and conservation.
In 1980 when a director general, Dr Christopher Imboden, was appointed (the first full-time member of staff), the secretariat moved to Cambridge and began a new period of change and growth.
The first meeting at 36 Smith Square, London, on June 22, 1922, was the beginning of a global partnership that began with a small group of individuals and has grown into a worldwide movement. The first meeting was initiated by Dr T Gilbert Pearson, an American, who travelled widely seeking support from national organisations.
These were pioneers of international bird conservation. Few national conservation organisations existed at that time, let alone one with an international outlook. Yet the early founders recognised that some conservation problems needed an international response and that working together would have tremendous benefits for birds.
Seventy-five years after the founding of BirdLife International (the name change came in 1993), the conservation challenges are greater than ever. BirdLife International will continue to adapt and grow but the stimulus that motivated those early pioneers still exists 75 years on: to conserve threatened birds and their habitats worldwide.