world birdwatch special anniversary issue

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2 WorldBirdwatch


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WorldBirdwatchDecember 2012 Volume 34 No. 4ISSN 0144-4476Managing Editor Martin FowlieNews Editor Nick Langley

The views expressed are those of thecontributors and not necessarily those ofBirdLife International

Designed by Peter Creed, NatureBureauPrinted by Portland PrintPrinted on processed chlorine-free papermade from at least 80% post-consumerwaste recycled fibre.

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To subscribe to World Birdwatch pleaseemail [email protected]

The production of World Birdwatch is generouslysupported by the A G Leventis Foundation

Officers of BirdLife InternationalPresident Emeritus: Her Majesty Queen Noor of JordanHonorary President: Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado of JapanHonorary Vice-Presidents: Baroness Young of Old Scone (UK), Gerard A Bertrand (USA),

A P Leventis (UK), Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu (Ghana)Chief Executive: Dr Marco LambertiniChairman: Peter Johan ScheiTreasurer: Ben Olewine IV

Council of BirdLife InternationalAfrica: Paul Matiku (Kenya), Chip Chirara (Zimbabwe)Asia: Asad R Rahmani (India), Anabelle E Plantilla (Philippines)Caribbean and North America: Ben Olewine IV (USA), Peg Olsen (USA)Central and South America: Alberto Yanosky (Paraguay)Europe: Josep del Hoyo (Spain), Werner Müller (Switzerland), Fred Wouters (Netherlands),

Mike Clarke (UK)Middle East: Yehya Khaled (Jordan), Mohammed Shobrak (Saudi Arabia)Pacific: Mike Britton (New Zealand), Philippe Raust (French Polynesia)

World Birdwatch is published quarterly byBirdLife International, Wellbrook Court, Girton Road, Cambridge CB3 0NA, UKTel. +44 (0)1223 277318 Fax +44 (0)1223 277200 Email [email protected] registered charity no 1042125

BirdLife International is a worldwide partnership of conservation organisations working to protect theworld’s birds and their habitats.

World Birdwatch is available by subscription from BirdLife International at the above address and from some Partner organisations

FRONT COVERThe BirdLife Partnership comprises 116conservation NGOs working together fornature and people

Contributors to this issue:Nick Askew, Stuart Butchart, ElodieCantaloube, Peter Hendley, Shaun Hurrell,Caroline Jacobbson, Ben Lascelles,Jim Lawrence, Ade Long, Werner Müller(SVS), Gina Pfaff, Anna Piowtrowska, JudithRumgay, Alberto Yanosky (Gurya Paraguay).

Image credits p.20: Oiled flamingo (BirdLife),Wandering Albatross (Felix Heintzenberg/BIOFOKUS) Lorikeet release (GeraldMcCormack). P21: Cousin Island (MartinHarvey), Datazone (BirdLife), Banded Pitta(Jacob Wijpkema)

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Ninety years of internationalconservationLike me, millions of people around the world have aspecial relationship with birds. They are embeddedin our culture and religion as omens, symbols andmythical creatures that can bring peace, good or badfortune. They are important elements of our lives

and livelihoods, and remain crucial links between man and nature inthose parts of the world that are rapidly losing this contact today.And what joy they bring with their songs, colours and intriguingbehaviour.

In 1922, the first global conservation organisation, theInternational Committee for Bird Preservation (ICBP), was establishedto work for the conservation of birds, and in 1993 this wastransformed into BirdLife International. Therefore 2012/2013 is animportant 90/20 anniversary for our Partnership, and we willcelebrate our achievements and look to the future at the BirdLifeWorld Congress in Ottawa in June 2013.

But we cannot rest on our laurels. Although today, our globalPartnership includes more than 100 organisations, with more than10 million supporters, working relentlessly in over 110 countries andterritories, the threats to birds and biodiversity remain. More than1,250 bird species are threatened, and we in the BirdLife Partnershipare committed to preventing them from sliding into extinction byworking with local people to promote sustainable living as a meansto conserve them.

I thank you all BirdLife Partners and BirdLife supporterswholeheartedly for all your efforts to save them and with it build abetter future for all of us and our future generations.

Peter Schei,Chairman, BirdLife International

1 From the Chairman

2 News

13 BirdLife at 90The story of thde world’s oldestinternational conservationpartnership

20 MilestonesSome of the successes of theBirdLife Partnership over the last90 years

22 Partner profilesA look at BirdLife Partnersaround the world

26 BirdLife in booksWhat people said aboutBirdLife’s publications

28 From the frontline

CONTENTS


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IBA directories prove the benefitsof sharing conservation dataIn 1989, World Birdwatch reported that ICBP had published itsbiggest book to date, a directory of Important Bird Areas (IBAs) inEurope. The book was the first attempt by any conservationorganisation to document all the sites of importance for a class oforganisms across an entire continent. At the same time, it set out tomake the information accessible to non-specialist decision makers ingovernment and elsewhere, without compromising its value toconservation professionals.

IBAs go globalNational conservation organisations in many European countriesincreasingly focused their site conservation activities on nationalIBA networks, and local volunteers were mobilised to help protect,monitor and manage ‘their’ IBAs. With the appointment of aEuropean IBA coordinator in 1990, and increasing numbers ofnational IBA coordinators, the work coalesced into a formal IBAprogramme.

The book was replaced by an even larger, two-volume directoryin 2000, which raised the number of European IBAs recognisedfrom 2,444 in 32 countries to 3,619 across 51 countries. By this time,the IBA programme, begun in Europe, had takenoff across much of the world. In 1992, IBA workwas extended to cover the Middle East. When theIBA programme for Africa was launched in 1993,the methodology was refined to ensure globalapplicability; the IBA recognition process wasdeveloped to maximise local and nationalinvolvement. The African IBA inventory, publishedin 2001, documented 1,230 sites in 58 countries and territories. TheIBA directory for Asia was produced in 2004, identifying 2,293 sitesacross 28 countries, followed in 2009 by the Americas directory,describing 2,345 sites in 57 countries. In Australasia and the Pacific,

inventories have either beencompleted or are in progressfor most countries andterritories.

By mid-2011, 129publications covering all orpart of 83 countries had alsobeen produced details of allthese can be found onwww.birdlife.org/datazone/info/ibainventories). Theseare smaller, cheaper, and canexpand upon and updateinformation in the regional directories. They may bepublished in the relevant local language or languages, thus moreeasily engaging national decision makers

Out to seaIn 2000, BirdLife began work on identifying marine IBAs, andpublished Coastal and marine Important Bird Areas in the Baltic Sea.

But it was with the work of BirdLife PartnersSEO (Spain) and SPEA (Portugal), in 2004, thatthe work was formalised, leading to thepublication of BirdLife’s Marine IBA toolkit(2010), which established standardisedtechniques for identifying marine IBAs. Sitesthat qualify include seaward extensions aroundseabird breeding colonies, non-breeding

coastal concentrations and areas of the high seas where pelagicspecies forage. Working with the world’s leading seabird scientistsfrom both inside and outside the BirdLife Partnership, 40 BirdLifePartners have identified 3,000 marine IBAs worldwide. Over 150

have already been recognised by the Conventionon Biological Diversity (CBD) as Ecologically orBiologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs), astep on the way to marine protected areas

Going virtualThe result, the first global inventory of importantsites for the conservation of any class of marinespecies, was published at the Eleventh Conferenceof the Parties to the Convention on BiologicalDiversity, in October. Instead of one of theimpressive and often huge paper-baseddirectories that BirdLife has published to date, thee-Atlas of marine Important Bird Areas is availableexclusively online, as a Google Maps-styleelectronic atlas, which can be dynamicallyupdated as new sites are identified and new dataabout them become available. It is linked to otherBirdLife data resources, including BirdLife’s speciesaccounts, IBA fact sheets and State of the World’sBirds case studies, as well as to BirdLife’s SeabirdForaging Range and Tracking Ocean Wanderersdatabases ■

“12,000 terrestrialand 3,000 marine IBAs

identified”

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March 2009 3December 2012 3

In 1990, World Birdwatch reported that BP had provided£125,000 of support for whatwas then known as the ICBP/Fauna and Flora PreservationSociety ConservationExpedition Competition.Winners that year included ateam from CambridgeUniversity, which carried outbird surveys in the SolomonIslands, and another whichvisited forests in Tanzania’sUsambara Mountains.

Soon after the first full-timestaff were employed, ICBPbegan developing a portfolio ofprojects using volunteer labour,mostly comprised of students.The result was a long series ofprojects targeting threatenedspecies in key locations.Information about the statusand ecology ofthe species andthe threats theyfaced wasneeded for theRed Data Booksof threatenedbird species,which ICBPcompiled onbehalf of theIUCN.

This early work grew into amajor international initiative todevelop conservation capacityworldwide, now known theConservation LeadershipProgramme (CLP). At first, thefocus was on students from theUK, but the CLP nowconcentrates almost entirely onpromising youngconservationists fromdeveloping countries. Manyhave now emerged as majorplayers in conservation. CLP-backed teams have discoveredor rediscovered over 200species.

From expeditions toflagship projectsHistorically, the scheme hasundergone several changes: in1985, ICBP founded theConservation Expedition Award

to encourage UK universitystudents to collect data onthreatened birds overseasduring their summer vacations;in 1988, Fauna and FloraInternational joined thescheme, which was widened toencompass all life forms; and, in1990, BP began funding thescheme, which was extended toapplicants from all over theworld. By 1998, 50% of projectswere led by developing countrynationals. This rose to morethan 75% in 2004 and is nowclose to 100%.

Some of the earliestexpeditions turned intoflagship projects for ICBP/BirdLife, such as Kilum Ijim(formerly Mount Oku) inCameroon, which has now runfor 25 years, protecting three

threatenedbird species,and achievingregenerationof the forest.Similarly, in1989, a teamfrom theUniversity ofEast Angliaconducted the

first surveys of the birds andmammals of the dry forests ofthe Tumbes region of south-west Ecuador and north-westPeru. It rediscovered the Ochre-bellied Dove Leptotilaochraceiventris and locatednine other threatened birdsendemic to the region. Thethreats to the dry forest wereanalysed, resulting in aconservation strategy for theTumbesian region. At the time,ICBP was the only internationalconservation organisation toregard the Tumbesian region asa conservation priority. In 2004,the British Birdwatching Fairraised the record sum of£164,000 ($300,000) to supportBirdLife’s conservation work inthe Tumbres region.

In 2002, ConservationInternational and the WildlifeConservation Society joined the

programme. In the same year, ateam from Colombia’s nationaluniversity in Bogotá obtainedthe first confirmed evidence inninety years of the continuedexistence of the Indigo-wingedParrot Hapalopsittaca fuertesi.The population of this CriticallyEndangered parrot hassubsequently increased to 160birds thanks to conservationefforts.

Move to leadershipThe award programmesbecame the ConservationLeadership Programme in 2006,better to reflect theprogramme’s aim of addressingboth conservation and capacitydevelopment. CLP internshipswere introduced, givingindividuals an opportunity togain hands-on experience ofworking with an internationalconservation organisation.

When the CLP celebrated its25th anniversary in 2010, a totalof 475 projects had beensupported and 450 individualshad been trained throughinternational and in-countrytraining workshops. In the sameyear, the MangroveConservation Alliance wasestablished as a direct result of

a CLP internship hosted byBirdLife.

Major grant giverThe CLP now disbursesUS$500,000 annually toemerging conservationistsaround the world, in 2012supporting 28 projects in 22countries, selected from 238applicants. These includedconservation of the CriticallyEndangered Grey-BreastedParakeet Pyrrhura griseipectus inBrazil, and of the EndangeredGreen Peafowl Pavo muticus inthe proposed A Yun Pa NatureReserve in Vietnam. There is awell-established alumninetwork of around 3,000individuals, many in seniorpositions. No fewer than 96% oftrainees have entered careerswhich influence biodiversityconservation; nearly 70% arepractitioners working withNGOs, private companies,government, or as independentconsultants. Some 85% ofprojects have continuedbeyond the programme’sfunding period. More than 50protected areas have beendesignated as a result of CLPprojects and 25 NGOs havebeen established ■

For more than 25 years the Conservation Leadership Programme hasproduced the next generation of young conservationists (CLP)

“3,000 youngconservationists

supported, 200 speciesrediscovered, 50protected areas

designated”

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In 1984, World Birdwatch reported that ICBP was developing adatabase on the threatened birds of small islands, which wouldbring together the knowledge and insights of all the world’s islandconservation specialists. Following the publication of the second,much-expanded edition of the Red Data Book in 1978–79, ICBPknew that more than half of globally threatened bird species werefrom small islands, as were the overwhelming majority of speciesthat had gone extinct in the preceding 400 years.

ICBP announced that a major focus for thenext four years would be on oceanic islandconservation. But at that time knowledge aboutislands tended to be very scattered.

ICBP had already produced a checklist of birdspecies endemic to single islands or confined tocertain archipelagos. The next phase involvedcirculating a specially devised questionnaire to island specialistsacross the globe. The information was stored and analysed on acomputerised system developed by ICBP and IUCN, which, incommon with all BirdLife’s data resources, was made freely availableto all conservationists and conservation organisations.

Restoring islands for people and natureImproving livelihoodsICBP already recognised that human livelihoods and wellbeingwere inextricably linked with the success or failure ofconservation efforts. The database contained not only informationon threatened birds and other biodiversity, but also socio-economic data.

Nearly 30 years on, the proportion of threatened birds onislands has fallen below half, in part because ofsuccessful conservation work implemented orled by BirdLife Partners. BirdLife has also taken alead in developing expertise in eradicatinginvasive alien species, which are implicated inthe declines of three quarters of all threatenedbirds on oceanic islands.

For example, Vatu-i-Ra, a small island IBA inFiji, supports more than 10,000 pairs of breeding seabirds of sixspecies. The community that owns the island was keen to protectthis resource and to develop low impact tourism, but the very highpopulation of rats threatened the seabird colonies. The BirdLifePacific Partnership began eradicating the rats, while trainingcommunity members to prevent them from becoming re-established. In 2008, the island was declared rat free. AnotherBirdLife Pacific Partnership project eradicated rats from 13internationally and three nationally important seabird islands.Collectively, these operations have created 306 ha of predator freeisland habitat, protecting breeding colonies for 17 species ofseabird and many other native life forms including threatenedlandbirds, reptiles, invertebrates and plants.

Extending the reachThe BirdLife Pacific Partnership is extending the restorationprogramme to an additional 19 important seabird islands in Fiji,French Polynesia, New Caledonia, the Cook Islands and Palau. Theprogramme is being implemented by BirdLife Partners in FrenchPolynesia (Société d’Ornithologie de Polynésie), New Caledonia(Société Calédonienne d’Ornithologie), the Cook Islands (TeIpukarea), and the Palau Conservation Society. Of the six BirdLifePartners in the tropical Pacific, four now have the technicalknowledge, experience and support networks to undertakerestoration of important islands.

BirdLife Partners in the Pacific have saved several small islandspecies from otherwise inevitable extinction by controlling anderadicating invasive pests, especially black rats. The EndangeredUltramarine Lorikeet Vini ultramarina survives on the MarquesasIslands in French Polynesia because of constant vigilance andtrapping; similar work on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands hasbrought the Rarotonga Monarch Pomarea dimidiata back fromCritically Endangered in 1996 to Vulnerable in 2012.

Not only ratsBut it’s not just about removing invasive mammals. In the Azores,SPEA (BirdLife in Portugal) has successfully restored around 230 haof native laurel forest by removing invasive alien plants. This hasplayed a large part in reversing the decline of Azores Bullfinch,resulting in the species being downlisted in 2010. The project hasalso other important benefits: providing the equivalent of full timeemployment for 25 local people annually, whilst adding anestimated €335,000 to the regional GDP each year ■

The BirdLife Partnership is restoring islands

and removing alieninvasive species

(SOP Manu)

“Invasive alien specieshave been the biggest

cause of bird extinctionssince 1500”

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In 1983, World Birdwatchreported that ICBP wasconducting a study at Arabuko-Sokoke, the largest remnant ofthe forests that once dominatedKenya’s coastal fringe. At thattime, the forest was known tohold five species listed as “rare” inthe Red Data book. Of these, theSokoke Scops-owl Otus ireneaeand Clarke’s Weaver Ploceusgolandi were both believed to beconfined to this site, and theSokoke Pipit Anthus sokokensis tobe near-endemic to the forest.

Arabuko-Sokoke issurrounded by 53 villages and atleast 110,000 people. An interimreport by ICBP found that whilethe forest area had been onlyslightly reduced, continualremoval of timber and charcoalburning by local communitieshad led to considerabledegradation in forest quality.Although Arabuko-Sokoke was anational Forest Reserve, therewere insufficient funds and staffto protect it.

Following the study, ICBP/BirdLife ranked Arabuko-Sokokeas the second most importantforest for conservation ofthreatened birds on mainlandAfrica. Of more than 230 birdspecies recorded, nine areglobally threatened.

Working with localpeopleIt was clear to ICBP that theconservation problems could notbe addressed without tacklingthe problems of the community,which primarily stemmed fromextreme poverty. Theunmanaged and illegalextraction of timber andfirewood, and hunting of wildlifefor bushmeat, continuallyundermined the very resourcesthat local people depended on.Early proposals included asuggestion that local peopleshould be excluded from part ofthe site, but neither ICBP norKenya’s then-President favouredthis approach, believing insteadthat the forest should be

protected for the benefit of localpeople as well as birds andbiodiversity.

Partner takes controlThe Arabuko-Sokoke ForestManagement and ConservationProject, which ran from 1996 to2002, was coordinated by theBirdLife Secretariat, and fundedby the EuropeanUnion. BirdLifePartner NatureKenya becameincreasinglyinvolved, and,since April 2002has played theleading role, with support fromother Partners including NABU(Germany) and RSPB (UK).

A combination of communityparticipation with strengthenedlaw enforcement systems hasbeen at the heart of the project,along with development offorest based income generatingactivities such as beekeeping,butterfly farming, ecotourismand education, backed bymonitoring to assess theeffectiveness of all theseactivities.

The 25-year Strategic ForestManagement Plan for Arabuko-

Sokoke was developed in aparticipatory way, with over 150people representing every‘stakeholder’ group. Arabuko-Sokoke was the first state ownedforest in Kenya wherecommunity involvement inforest management wasallowed; equally, the highestlevels of government have

endorsed theplan. Thecontinuingsurvival of theforest and itsfauna during anera of forestloss in most of

the country is the clearest signof the project’s success.

Forests of HopeBeginning with the work of ICBP,the BirdLife Partnership hasbeen involved in forestconservation work in 50countries in Africa, Asia, SouthAmerica and the Pacific. Since2004, BirdLife’s Forests of Hopeprogramme has been bringingtogether and building on thesemany successes. Its aim is theprevention of deforestation andthe restoration of natural forestcovering at least five million

hectares of tropical forestworldwide by 2020.

Forests of Hope began withHarapan Forest in Sumatra,Indonesia, where many forestIBAs are in areas zoned by thegovernment as commerciallogging concessions. BirdLifePartner Burung Indonesia, withthe support of the BirdLifeSecretariat and several Partners,worked with Indonesia’s Ministryof Forestry to enable loggingconcessions to be managed inthe interests of natureconservation. This became law in2007. By 2009 the Ministry wasreceiving as many applicationsfor forest restoration licences asfor logging concessions; by theend of 2011, there were 40applications for forestrestorations, totalling a further3.9 million hectares.

Harapan Rainforest is thefirst restoration forest of its kindin Indonesia—and the world.This ambitious project providesa model for forest ecosystemrestoration, carbonsequestration and sustainablemanagement throughoutIndonesia, with lessons that canbe shared with other tropicalcountries ■

The BirdLife Partnership has been involved in forest projects in 50 countries across the globe (David Zeller; RSPB)

“Four million hectaresof tropical forests

targeted forprotection”

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Saving the world’s most threatened species

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In 1988, 20 years after ICBP’spurchase of Cousin Island in theSeychelles, World Birdwatchreported on the astonishingrecovery of the species thenknown as the Seychelles Brush-warbler (now Seychelles Warbler)Acrocephalus sechellensis. By 1968,the global population haddropped to just 20–30, all onCousin, which was mostly coveredby a coconut plantation.

The coconut trees were cutdown; native vegetation wasencouraged to regenerate; rats

were eradicated. Cousin was, and continues to be managed as a strictnature reserve. The only activities permitted are conservation work,research and day visits by ecotourists; this provides all the fundingthe island needs.

Time for translocationBy 1987, the warbler population had reached 450,which was thought to be as many as Cousin couldhold. But the island is just 27 ha in extent: a singlecatastrophe, such as a scrub fire, could havepushed the warbler back to the edge ofextinction. Historically, Seychelles Warbler hadbeen known from other islands; a candidateexisted in Aride, 12 km to the north, which wasalso managed as a nature reserve. An ICBP teamcompared conditions on the two islands, and concluded that Aridewas suitable for the warbler.

At the end of the 1987 breeding season, 29 birds weretransported by boat from Cousin to Aride. The results were startling:within a couple of days, the first nest had been built; the first eggswere laid a week later. Ten years later, the population on Aride hadreached 1,600. Birds were subsequently shipped to two more islands,where they thrived.

Frégate was the only known home of the Seychelles Magpie-robin Copsychus sechellarum, which by 1965 was reduced to an evenmore parlous state than the Seychelles Warbler, with only 12–15surviving. Following intensive work and translocations, firstby the RSPB, then Nature Seychelles, the Magpie-robinrecovered to an estimated 200, on five islands(including Cousin). In 2005, it was downlisted fromCritically Endangered to Endangered.

Widening the netTwo more Seychelles species have also been“downlisted” from Critically Endangered. Surveysby Nature Seychelles since 2005 suggest thatthe population of Seychelles Scops-owl Otusinsularis, though small, is stable and its habitatreasonably well protected. In 1996, only 25–35Seychelles White-eyes Zosterops modestus wereknown, from three tiny sites on Mahé. Then, in

1997, a population thought to number around 250 was found onConception. In 2001, following cat and rat eradication, 31 birds weretransferred to Frégate; translocations to North Island and Cousinfollowed.

Nature Seychelles is one of BirdLife’s most dynamic Partners: aswell as transforming the state of Seychelles ecosystems andbiodiversity by its leading role in island restoration, it is involved inyouth work, education and capacity building; its most recent projectis a groundbreaking programme to tackle problems of socialexclusion and addiction through its Greening Livelihoods Project,which encourages vulnerable people to improve their mental andphysical wellbeing through contact with nature, and to learnpractical skills that allow them to rejoin mainstream society.

Saving speciesThe BirdLife Partnership has a strong history in species conservationon both a national and international scale. In September 2008, thePreventing Extinctions Programme was launched in in an attempt tocounteract an increasingly diverse array of threats to birds by

delivering conservation actions, and byhighlighting the entirety of the action beingundertaken by the BirdLife Partnership forthreatened species.

The Programme has achieved a huge amountof tangible conservation action. The work hasalready covered more than 75 CriticallyEndangered species, in addition to many otherEndangered and Vulnerable species. For example,in Brazil a project on Restinga Antwren—fundedby the British Birdwatching Fair and Species

Champion Urs Peter Stäuble, and implemented by SAVE Brasil(BirdLife Partner), and Species Guardian Pingo d’Água—has led tothe creation of the state park of Costa do Sol, protecting 10,000hectares which encompass almost all of the Restinga Antwren’sdistribution. This added protection and a better understanding of thespecies have led to the antwren being downlisted to Endangered.

It is this work, often involving several different Partners thatmake the Programme truly unique. However, it is not only birds thatbenefit. The conservation carried out by Species Guardians also has apositive effect on many other plants and animals ■

Seychelles Warbler is nowthriving after translocationto different islands(Martijn Hammers)

Restinga Antwren has been a beneficiary of the BirdLifePreventing Extinctions Programme (Mauricio Vecchi)

“During its first fouryears, the BirdLife

Preventing ExtinctionsProgramme has appointedBirdLife Species Guardiansfor a total of 68 species”

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The United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) was opened forsignature in 1992, when ICBPwas completing its preparationsfor its launch as the BirdLifePartnership. Climate change—or global warming, as it wasthen more commonly known—had already been recognised asa threat to biodiversity. Amongbird conservationists, it wasseen primarily as a danger tothe birds of coasts andespecially smallislands, becauseof the associatedrise in sea level.

Leading theway withresearchOver the next 20years, BirdLifeand its regionalPartnershipsundertookground-breakingresearch that helpedexpose the comprehensivenature of the threat that climatechange poses to life on earth.Birds are among the mostsensitive indicators ofenvironmental change,providing both early warningsand the first evidence of likelylonger-term impacts. Thetimings of important events inbird life cycles, such as thearrival of migratory species ontheir breeding grounds, werechanging, and becominguncoupled from other seasonalevents, such as peaks in theavailability of insect prey. Manybird species were undergoingshifts and contractions in theirranges, with some being forcedfurther up slopes or towards theedges of continental landmasses, or seeing already smallclimatic “envelopes” squeezingshut. A Climatic Atlas ofEuropean Breeding Birdsrepresented a landmarkadvance in our understandingof the potential impacts of

human-induced climate changeon wildlife.

New challengesClimate change presents newchallenges to BirdLife’s mainapproaches to conservingspecies, sites and habitats.BirdLife has pulled togetherscientific information, policyanalysis and practicalexperience that provide acomprehensive rationale forthe Partnership to take action,

and developeda sharedposition andprogramme ofwork tocombatclimatechange.Partners worknationally toinfluencegovernmentpolicy andpositions onclimate

change mitigation, adaptationand biofuels, drawing on thepractical experience they havegained from on-the-groundaction and participation withlocal communities in placesthat are already experiencingthe impacts of climate change.The Partnership is involvedwith and helping developinnovative ecosystem-basedapproaches for adaptation toclimate change across theglobe.

Global policyBirdLife is active at the annualconferences of the UNFCCC.During the 15th Conference ofParties at Copenhagen in 2009,a team from the BirdLifeSecretariat was accompaniedby representatives from 19BirdLife Partners. They broughtwith them a list of the fiverequirements for a fair,ambitious and legally bindingagreement which wouldrecognise the vital importanceof safeguarding biodiversity,

ecosystems and the essentialservices they provide in climatechange adaptation andmitigation.

The Copenhagen COPfailed to do more than “takenote” of these requirements,and no binding legalagreement was forthcoming.However, world leaders takingpart in the following year’sCOP16 in Cancún, Mexico,reached an agreement thatput climate changenegotiations back on track.The 2011 meeting in Durban,South Africa, concluded with

Species’ ranges will move as climate changes. Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus mutais one of the potential losers (Tom Marshall; rspg-images.com)

“45 million estimatedtonnes of CO2 emissions

avoided throughBirdLife forest

protection at four sitesin Indonesia, Sierra

Leone, Cambodia andParaguay over the next

20 years”

the establishment of theGreen Climate Fund to supportdeveloping countries’ climatechange mitigation andadaptation efforts. BirdLife haslong campaigned for this, andhelped to provide hard figureson the finance such anagreement needs if it is tomake a real difference.

As this issue of WorldBirdwatch goes to press, ateam from BirdLife is attendingthe latest meeting (COP17) inDoha, Qatar, lobbyingsignatory governments on arange of critical issues ■

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Showing the way to save the world’s seabirds

In 1991, World Birdwatch reported arare good news story about seabirds.The New Zealand government hadoutlawed a kind of fishing equipmentresponsible for the deaths through collision oflarge numbers of White-capped AlbatrossThalassarche steadi, an endemic breeder onNew Zealand’s offshore islands.

The Auckland Islands’ squid trawl fisheryhad killed 2,300 adults in 1990 alone. SandyBartle, Curator of Birds at the National Museumin Wellington and a member of theICBP Seabird Specialist Group,initially brought the issue to themedia’s attention; coverage by national television and all majornewspapers prompted firm and immediate government action.

Since 2006, all boats at work in South Africa’s trawl grounds,where the majority of White-capped Albatross spend the winter,have been required to fit bird-scaring streamer lines as a conditionof their permit to fish, thanks to BirdLife’s lobbying work withRegional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs).

Bringing experts togetherSeabird conservation had been among ICBP’s early concerns. But itwas not until 1982, at a workshop which broughttogether experts in seabird biology andconservation from around the world, that ICBPattempted to compile a comprehensive analysisof the state of the world’s seabirds. Theworkshop was followed by a symposium onglobal priorities for seabird conservation andresearch; it resulted in the publication of ICBP’ssecond “Technical Publication”, the 800-pageStatus and Conservation of the World’s Seabirds. This covered all theworld’s oceans and coastal waters, examining what was known—and unknown—about 282 seabird species.

BirdLife established the Global Seabird Programme in 1997. Thisworks at regional, national and international levels to influenceagreements and measures to reduce seabird bycatch. Thanks partlyto lobbying by the BirdLife Partnership, an international treaty, theAgreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP),came into force in 2004: it requires signatory states to take specificmeasures to improve the conservation status of albatrosses andpetrels. BirdLife is the main NGO Observer at ACAP meetings, playsan active role in all ACAP Working Groups, and is developingindicators to measure conservation progress through ACAP.

Task Force successIn 2005, the Global Seabird Programme

created the Albatross Task Force (ATF), theworld’s first international team of seabird bycatch

mitigation instructors. The ATF works with the fishingindustry to raise awareness of seabird bycatch; itaccompanies fishermen at sea to demonstrate thesimple, inexpensive measures that can dramaticallyreduce the risk. For example, for every 100 albatrossesbeing killed in fisheries in South African waters in 2006,

over 85 are now being saved thanks to the efforts of theAlbatross Task Force working with the government and

the fishing industry. In the south of Chile, theincidental capture of seabirds has been

reduced from over 1,500 birds in one year to zero through theadoption of modified fishing gear, and in Argentina the use ofmitigation in the trawl fishery has shown that it is possible to reduceseabird mortality to close to zero.

BirdLife’s report Tracking Ocean Wanderers, published in 2004,highlighted crucial areas for the conservation of albatrosses acrossthe world’s oceans. Now online, the Global Procellariiform TrackingDatabase, managed by BirdLife, is the largest collection of seabirdtracking data in existence. Since 2007, BirdLife has also beencompiling a database of seabird foraging ranges and ecological

preferences in the marine environment; as part ofthe recently established World Seabird Union, it ishelping build a World Seabird Colony Database.All these data sources have been used by BirdLifePartners to identify IBAs around seabird coloniesand in foraging areas in the high seas, resulting inBirdLife’s e-Atlas of marine Important Bird Areas.

State of the world’s seabirdsA major review published in BirdLife’s journal Bird ConservationInternational in March 2012 returned to the theme of the ICBP’s“Technical Publication Number 2”, by examining the status of all theworld’s seabirds. The number of species recognised had risen from282 to 346. But, sadly, that was almost the only increase to bereported in two decades of seabird conservation. Based on BirdLife’sdata and assessments for the IUCN Red List, the paper confirmed thatseabirds are more at risk than any other group of birds, with 97species (28%) globally threatened, and nearly 50% known, orsuspected to be experiencing population declines. Even the White-capped Albatross, the beneficiary of that early ICBP-inspiredgovernment ban, may be declining moderately rapidly, and is listedas Near Threatened ■

Seabird conservationhas been of concern

since ICBP’s earliest days(gingiber; flickr.com)

“In South Africa,measures put in place

have reduced albatrossdeaths by 90%”

Dec2012news.p65 12/6/2012, 9:26 AM8


The need to protect vulnerablemigratory birds was an importantmotive for the creation of ICBP in1922. Many projects followed,until in 1978, ICBP begancoordinating the first globalinitiative for migratory birds, byfounding the Migratory BirdsCommittee (MBC).

By 1988, World Birdwatch wasable to report that ICBP hadcarried out more than 140projects in Europe and Africa,building networks and supportingexisting conservation bodies, andestablishing NGOs in countrieswhere there were previously noorganisations devoted to birdstudy and conservation. BirdLifePartners in Nigeria (NigerianConservation Foundation) andGreece (Hellenic OrnithologicalSociety) were founded duringthese years. ICBP carried out majorsurveys in eight European and tenAfrican countries, ranging fromwaterfowl censuses to the scale ofbird killing at Mediterraneanmigration bottlenecks, andincluding the impact of changinghydrological regimes andpesticide use on the wetlands ofthe Sahel.

The seeds of cooperationThe MBC fostered cooperationbetween affluent countries wherethe birds breed and poorercountries with important passageand wintering sites. Examplesinclude: an agreement betweenICBP, RSPB (BirdLife in the UK), thegovernment of Ghana and theGhana Wildlife Society (now aBirdLife Partner) to reverse thedecline in the population ofRoseate Tern Sterna dougallii; anagreement with the Moroccangovernment included surveys tolocate passage and winteringpopulations of the Slender-billedCurlew Numenius tenuirostris,conservation management plansfor significant coastal wetlandsites, training in protection areamanagement, and advice onimproving the protection status ofimportant sites. Similar work wascarried out in Sudan, Nigeria and

Senegal, and in Egypt and othercountries around theMediterranean.

ICBP was instrumental inpromoting international wildlifelaws, most significantly theConvention on the Conservationof Migratory Species of WildAnimals (CMS orthe BonnConvention).Beginning withthe White StorkCiconia ciconia(then in decline,but nowregarded as ofLeast Concern and still increasingthanks to conservation action),ICBP steered development ofaction plans for species listed inthe Appendices of the CMS.

First programme sponsorThe BirdLife Partnership has nowcombined its activities for theconservation of migratory birdsinto a global programmecovering the three major flyways:the African-Eurasian, East Asian-Australasian, and AmericasFlyways. In 2011, the BritishBirdwatching Fair became thefirst international sponsor for theFlyways Programme. In its first

year, Birdfair money providedsupport to conserve habitats inthe Sahel region.

The project is implementedby three BirdLife Partners inAfrica: Fondation des Amis de laNature (Naturama) in BurkinaFaso, Ghana Wildlife Society and

the NigerianConservationFoundation.They aresupported bythe BirdLifeSecretariats inNairobi, Accraand Cambridge,

and BirdLife Partners in Europe,particularly LPO (France), VBN(Netherlands), DOF (Denmark)and RSPB. Conservation activitiesat wetland/savanna IBAs in thethree countries include: supportfor Local Conservation Groups;floodplain restorationdemonstration; pilot projects torestore dryland with nativeshrubs and trees; and measuresto combat overgrazing andwoodland degradation.

Global joined-upconservationIn 2012, the Birdfair raised fundsto support BirdLife conservation

action in the East Asian/Australasian Flyway, whichextends from Arctic Russia viaEast and South-East Asia tosouthernmost Australia andNew Zealand. The Flyway hasmore waterbird species listed asNear Threatened or GloballyThreatened than any of theworld’s other major migratoryflyways; rates of species declineof up to 8–9% per year areamong the highest of anyecological system on the planet.

In the Americas, Partnersalong the flyway are workingtogether to create a network ofsites form the prairies to thepampas to ensure a future forlarge numbers of migratorybirds. Audubon, Nature Canadaand Bird Studies Canada in thenorth work with and helpPartners such as PanamaAudubon, Guyra Paraguay andAves Argentinas further south tomake sure that migrants havesafe havens throughout theirrange.

The nature and beauty ofthe BirdLife Partnership meansthat it is perfectly set up totackle the problems thatmigratory birds face all alongtheir flyways ■

“The BirdLifePartnership is strivingto protect 1.5 millionsoaring birds through

the Rift Valley”

Bobolinks Dolichonyx oryzivorus link many countries in the Americas with their migratory route whichextends from the prairies of North America to the pampas of the South (janetandPhil; flickr.com)

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Partners supporting Partners

Over the past three years, SEO/BirdLife (BirdLife Partner in Spain),has helped to develop the capacity of a national NGO in Morocco,GREPOM (Group for Research and Protection of Birds in Morocco),hoping that it will soon be able to take the lead on BirdLife’sprogrammes in Morocco. The desired end, in line with BirdLifeoperations elsewhere in the world, is to have a strong, committedand credible NGO representing BirdLife nationally as a member ofthe BirdLife Partnership.

In Morocco, as elsewhere in the world, BirdLife believes that adedicated and effective network of civil society movements fornature is the only way to ensure tangible, long term and sustainableconservation impact. This is why a major emphasis of BirdLife’s workconcerns capacity building, from science topolicy and conservation action, management,communications, fundraising and marketing.Each of BirdLife’s programmes (PreventingExtinctions, IBAs, Seabirds, Flyways, AlienInvasives, Forests of Hope, Climate Change,Capacity Development and Local Empowerment)has a capacity development component.

Providing real solutionsThe 116 civil society organisations that form the BirdLifePartnership have a wealth of experience, knowledge and technicalskills which they share, providing each other with invaluable realworld solutions and best practices. This is crucial because over halfof the BirdLife Partners are located in developing countries.

BirdLife’s capacity development work is implemented througha through a highly cost effective programme of training courses,visits, internships, an NGO “Health Check” and a “Partnerssupporting Partners” system, through which the more developedorganisations support developing ones. This system encouragesthe establishment of bilateral relationships between European,North American and Australasian Partners and others in Africa, theAmericas, Asia and the Pacific.

Partners helping PartnersFor example, the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society(BirdLife in Ethiopia) has established a Local Conservation Group in

the Central Rift Valley around the Abijata Shalla Lakes National Park(ASLNP) with funds obtained from NABU (BirdLife in Germany).Similarly, the Norwegian Ornithological Society (NOF) providefunding and support for the Zambian Ornithological Society (ZOS)in a project to encourage local participation in the conservation ofsome of Zambia’s key biodiversity areas, setting up Site SupportGroups (SSGs) in 15 IBAs.

Since 1990, RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) has supported the WildlifeConservation Society of Tanzania (WCST), helping it to secure fundsfor medium-to-large projects, including the five year UluguruSlopes Planning Project, 1995–1999; between 1999 and 2007 Danishpartner DOF secured more funding for WCST’s work in the Uluguru

Mountains), and provided/continues to providetraining to develop WCST’s institutional andprofessional capacity. In the 20 years from 1988to 2008, WCST evolved from an organisationentirely managed by volunteers into aninternationally recognised NGO staffed bysalaried professionals. As such it was able to takethe lead against recent proposals to mine sodaash in Lake Natron, the most important breedingsite for Lesser Flamingos in East Africa.

Nature Canada (BirdLife co-partner in Canada) has worked withPartners in Central and South America and the Caribbean onintegrated conservation and development projects, which havehelped to alleviate social and economic problems as well as toconserve species and habitats. With the financial support of theGovernment of Canada, Nature Canada has worked with GrupoJaragua (BirdLife in the Dominican Republic), Société Audubon Haïtiand Centro Nacional de Areas Protegidas (CNAP, BirdLife in Cuba) topromote sustainable livelihoods and to reduce impacts on criticalbiodiversity areas. The islands of Cuba and Hispaniola are of greatimportance as stopover or wintering grounds for migratory birdsthat breed in Canada, including the globally Vulnerable Bicknell’sThrush Catharus bicknelli. In the same way, other BirdLife Partnershave forged links by participating in work to conserve themigratory birds they share.

BirdLife is now represented in two thirds of all countries andterritories of the world ■

“More than 115 Partnersworking together and

helping each other for asustainable future forpeople and nature”

(Martin Fowlie)

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In 1987, World Birdwatchannounced the HadejiaWetlands Project, a large-scaleinitiative to restore seasonalwetlands in the floodplain of theHadejia and Jama’are rivers innorth-east Nigeria, byorganising and empowering thesurrounding communities. ICBPhad identified the wetlands as asite of great important formigratory waterbirds, but theyalso provided livelihoods andsubsistence to around 1.5farmers, herders and fishermen.

Hydrological changes,caused by upstream dams, wereslowing the water flow throughthe wetlands, allowing Typhareeds to become established,which blocked the channels,reducing flooding needed toirrigate farms, and preventingpools from forming.

The original project involvedICBP, the Nigerian ConservationFoundation and the RSPB (soonto become the BirdLife Partnersin Nigeria and the UK). Theproject produced amanagement plan for theconservation and sustainableuse of the wetlands, trainedlocal staff in wetlandsmanagement, and engaged thewider community by forming“Nature Clubs”.

Wings over WetlandsTwenty years later, the HadejiaNguru wetlands were chosen asa demonstration project by theWings Over Wetlands (WOW)initiative. WOW broughttogether BirdLife, its Partnersalong the African Eurasianflyway and other conservationorganisations, and communitieswhose livelihoods depend onwetlands which are alsoimportant for migratorywaterbirds.

WOW equipped the villagersof Dabar Magini to restore anarea of the wetlands. Acommittee was set up and WOWprovided hand-tools to clear theTypha manually. Within a year,people reported that pools were

forming further from the lakes,enabling farmers and herders toreturn to land that had becometoo dry for crops and grazing,and that more and bigger fishwere being caught. The projectbecame self-sustaining asmore communitymemberscontributed theirtime to clearingthe channels.Two nearbycommunitiesjoined in, andthe lessonslearned are being taken up byother villages around thewetlands.

People and naturetogetherICBP was among the first globalconservation NGOs to recognisethat the consent andparticipation of local people areessential if conservation projectsare to be successful in the longterm. The BirdLife Partnershiphas built upon this insight: BirdLife’s vision is of “a worldrich in biodiversity, with peopleand nature living in harmony,equitably and sustainably”. AllBirdLife Partners are nationalcivil-society organisations,working locally through theirmembers and supporters. Therelationship is mutuallybeneficial. National Partnershelp local people achieve theirambitions, and localstakeholders contribute theirknowledge, experience andaction to the conservation ofglobally important sites andspecies.

The importance ofvolunteersMany Partners are supported byvolunteers who help protect,manage and monitor sites,enabling conservation work tobe carried out and datacollected to an extent thatwould be far beyond thecapacity of the Partner’s staff

alone. Since the late 1990s,BirdLife and the Partnershiphave been building a network ofgrassroots groups, known asLocal Conservation Groups(LCGs), at IBAs. There are

currently over2000 LCGs atIBAs across theworld. Thestructures,governance,membershipand objectivesof these groupsreflect thediversity of

culture, history, legislation andsocial norms in different places.LCGs often form effectivecommunity-basedorganisations, addressing other

issues of local concern, such ashealth, clean water provisionand education. Others haveestablished income-generatingactivities which require themaintenance of healthyecosystems.

The BirdLife’s Partnership’sLocal EmpowermentProgramme (LEP), launched in2011, aims to provide moreeffective support for LCGs, andto strengthen and expand LCGnetworks. The LEP’s vision is that“local organisations at criticalsites for biodiversity areempowered to effectivelyconserve, manage and defendtheir sites, so that biodiversityvalues and benefits are providedlocally, nationally and globally inthe long term” ■

“2,000 LocalConservation groups

around the worldworking for a future for

people and naturetogether”

The BirdLife Partnership has been building a network of grassroots groups,known as Local Conservation Groups (LCGs), at IBAs around the world

(Jonathan Barnard)

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12 WorldBirdwatch

In spring 1988, ICBP moved out ofthe overcrowded portakabins thathad served as its headquarters,and into its first permanent home.To make the purchase, ICBP drewon reserves; money which ICBP’sExecutive Committee stipulatedhad to be replaced.

For this and other reasons,ICBP launched a capitalfundraising campaign for£250,000, soliciting UK companiesto provide some of theequipment it needed. Along witha fax machine and a photocopier,ICBP’s modest shopping listincluded £100 for a fridge.

Scaling up fundraisingToday, the fundraising challengeis envisioned on a very differentscale! The targets of BirdLife’srecent fundraising campaignsincluded highly ambitiousprojects: the US$100,000 peryear Northern Bald Ibisconservation programme inMorocco and Syria; the£1.7million Henderson IslandRestoration Project led by theRSPB (Partner in the UK); and the$2million per annummanagement and restoration ofthe Harapan Forest in Sumatra.

Costing natureMost recently of all, a team ofresearchers from BirdLife and its

UK Partner the RSPB haveappealed to the world’sgovernments to dig deep andcome up with $80 billion dollarsa year for the next ten years. Thisis calculated to be the price ofconserving our natural world:reducing the extinction risk of allthreatened birds (US$0.875–1.23billion annually, of which only12% is currentlyfunded); plus allother animaland plantspecies knownto be globallythreatened; plusthe costs of managing 11,731IBAs effectively (US$14.3 billionannually, less than 25% of whichis currently funded) and sites forother biodiversity; plus almost$60 billion to bring the globalprotected area network up to17% of the world’s terrestrialservice, which would take it justover the threshold agreed by theParties to the Convention ofBiological Diversity (whichmeans most of the world’sgovernments).

At first blush, this seems animpossibly high price,particularly during a time ofglobal recession. But as Donal

McCarthy, EnvironmentalEconomist at BirdLifeInternational and the RSPB, andlead author of the paperFinancial Costs of Meeting TwoGlobal Biodiversity ConservationTargets: Current Spending andUnmet Needs, points out, the totalis just 1–4% of the net value ofecosystem services being lost

annually, forwhich estimatesrange fromUS$2–6.6trillion.Moreover,because

protecting IBAs and otherecosystems would go far towardsstemming the loss of theseessential services, thegovernments, foundations andcharitable donors, corporationsand the other public and privatesources that could provide suchfunding would be guaranteedthe best return on investment onthe planet.

Resolving financial costsFollowing the failure of theglobal commitment to reducethe rate of loss of biodiversity by2010, Parties to the CBD adopteda new strategic plan, including 20

targets to be met by 2020. Butnegotiations on financing theplan are not yet resolved, partlyfor lack of information onfinancial costs. A particularchallenge has been to addressthe great discrepancy betweenthe higher resources available inricher countries and the higherconservation needs inbiodiversity rich but financiallypoor countries. BirdLife’s analysis,funded by the CambridgeConservation InitiativeCollaborative Fund forConservation and the ArcadiaFoundation, provides a soundbasis for resolving thesediscussions.

“Saving nature makeseconomic sense because of thepayback in terms of services andbenefits that people receive inreturn, from mitigating climatechange to pollinating crops”, saidDr Stuart Butchart, BirdLifeInternational’s Global ResearchCoordinator. “Resolving theongoing conservation fundingcrisis is urgent: the longer thatinvestments in conservation aredelayed, the more the costs willgrow, and the greater will be thedifficulty of successfully meetingthe targets” ■

Protecting the environment needs to be seen as a financial investment not as a cost (backonthebus; flickr.com)

“$80 billion a yearto save and protect

nature”

12 WorldBirdwatch

Dec2012news.p65 12/5/2012, 5:19 PM12

December 2012 13

FEATURE

Ninety years spreadingour wings: manyPartners, one BirdLifeNinety years ago a group ofvisionary conservationistsunderstood that internationalcooperation was the only wayto address the increasinglycomplex conservation issuesfacing birds in theindustrialised world. BirdLifewas the first truly internationalconservation organisation tobe established and birds onceagain acted as catalyst of thatlogical yet revolutionary ideato work togetherinternationally.

Ninety years later andmore than ever before it is onlytogether that we can tackle theinternational conservationissues of today’s globalisedworld. This is the spirit, theapproach, the ethos drivingwhat the BirdLife Partnershipdoes for nature. Together wecan go beyond today, beyond

boundaries; we can speakglobally with one voice; we canshare and learn solutions; wecan combine our science andour data; we can be muchgreater than the sum of theparts.

Over hundred committedorganisations are today the coreof BirdLife, the world’s largestglobal grass root partnershipfor nature. From identifying theworld’s important bird andbiodiversity areas, rescuingthreatened species, protectingcritical site networks formigratory birds along theirflyways, saving rainforests inthe tropics, grasslands in theAmericas and restoring islandsin the Pacific, to developinginnovative research andtechnology to save albatrossesfrom logline fishing or vulturesfrom toxic veterinary drugs,fighting unsustainable huntingin every corner of the planet,lobbying for a greener

agriculture in Europe and asustainable grazing in theMiddle East, what’s mostunique perhaps is howBirdLife get things done.

Our theory of change isentirely committed to buildlocal capacity, empoweringgrassroot conservationists andcommunities around the worldand supporting thedevelopment of strongconservation civil societyorganisations. Withoutpassionate, informed localcommittment nested in wellorganised and efficient localorganisations there won’t besustainable positive change.None of the BirdLifeorganisations could haveachieved impact at scale.Together we can achieve longterm and durable results fornature, for our own future. Wepassionately believe it.

We are many Partners , oneBirdLife.

Marco LambertiniChief Executive of BirdLifeInternational

[Started as volunteer of theLivorno branch of LIPU (BirdLifePartner in Italy) at the age of 12]

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14 WorldBirdwatch

BirdLife history

We are finally becoming awareof the crucial value of nature’sservices to us and all life onearth, yet at the same time weare destroying the naturalenvironment at an ever-fasterpace. Critical ecosystems likeforests and oceans, essential tothe stability of our climate,and primary sources of foodand materials that billions ofpeople depend on, are beingoverexploited and irreparablydegraded. One in eight birdsare threatened with extinction,unequivocal indicators of theunsustainable way we managethe planet’s resources.

Increasingly we recognisethat to save nature, we need tooperate at an internationalscale. This is why 117 nationalnature conservationorganisations have cometogether to form the BirdLifePartnership.

Together we share acommon vision and strategy,work together through jointprogrammes, and implementconservation projects at local,national, regional and globallevels. Together we helpstrengthen conservationcapacity throughout theBirdLife Partnership bysharing our resources, skillsand expertise.

BirdLife is a youngPartnership with old roots. Itwas founded as theInternational Council for BirdPreservation (ICBP) in 1922,

14 WorldBirdwatch

� “BirdLife International is a totally unique type ofinternational NGO. It has a scientific approach incollecting and analysing data, which it uses to workwith governments, local authorities and companiesto make conservation measures and projects moreeffective. The reputation of BirdLife as being notonly reliable and effective, but also attentive to theneeds of people, makes me proud to be itsHonorary President.”Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado,Honorary President, BirdLife International

ICBP was founded at a meetingcalled by T. Gilbert Pearson,President of Audubon (BirdLife)

From left to right: Jean Delacour, S. Dillon Ripley and Sir Peter Scottattend the ICBP World Conference in Cambridge, UK in 1982 (BirdLife)

at a meeting called by T. GilbertPearson, President of Audubon(now BirdLife Partner in theUSA), and attended bydelegates from France, Hollandand the UK. By the end of themeeting, they had establishedthe outline of what ProfessorKai Curry-Lindahl later called“world’s first truly internationalconservation organisation”.Within three years, ICBP hadmember organisations from fivecontinents.

Phyllis Barclay-Smith(UK) became the firstGeneral Secretary, and thedriving force behind ICBP for43 years. With her dynamism,and the leadership of JeanDelacour (France) andS. Dillon Ripley (UK), whofollowed Pearson as chairmen,ICBP developed into animpressive network ofindividuals and organisationsdriven by their passion forbirds and concerns for the

Dec2012History.p65 12/5/2012, 4:46 PM14

December 2012 15

��

The killing of birds for themillinery trade provided theimpetus for the creation ofseveral BirdLife Partners (VBN)

�“I had the honour ofserving as BirdLifeInternational’s firstHonorary President whenthis incredible globalPartnership was foundedtwenty years ago.

I am delighted to seehow BirdLife has grown instrength and remit,

covering more and more countries and territoriesacross the world and evolving into a complete andmature conservation organisation for nature andpeople, using birds as indicators of sustainability.”Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan,President Emeritus, BirdLife International

decline of species andhabitats.

A strong commitment tointernational collaboration wasa major factor behind ICBP’ssuccess. That founding principleremains at BirdLife’s core.Today the “Partners supportingPartners” system encouragesbilateral relationships betweendeveloped and developingcountry Partners acrosscontinents.

Feathers, oil pollution,bird sanctuaries, andmigratory birdsAmong its earliest campaigns,ICBP called for an end to thetrade in wild bird feathers. AtICBP’s first formal conference,in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1928,resolutions were passed for the

creation of bird sanctuaries, andfor a “closed season” onshooting and trapping of birdson spring migration and whilebreeding. Even in those earlydays oil pollution was aconcern, and the conferencecalled for an internationalconvention, “which should takeinto consideration the great lossof birds from this cause”. In1954, thanks partly to the workof ICBP, this conventionbecame reality.

ICBP used its internationalstructure to begin coordinatingthe first global initiative formigratory birds, and wasinstrumental in promoting theConvention on theConservation of MigratorySpecies, the first internationalconvention of this kind.

“During the 19th century, in the coal mines, minersused to take with them in the underground galleriesa cage containing a canary. If the bird showed anysign of weakness or even died, miners would stopworking and address the situation in order to savetheir lives. Today, every year, several bird speciesdisappear because they cannot survive thedeterioration of the environment imposed by man.

BirdLife is our canary.”Luc Hoffman, Founder of the Tour du Valat ResearchCentre and the MAVA Foundation

“Across the years BirdLife International hasreached levels of excellence in interlinking robustscience with sound policy proposals and inpromoting local action in support of globalpolicies. It is an approach now recognized in theRio+20 outcome document The Future We Wantas essential for achieving sustainabledevelopment. After 90 years, BirdLifeInternational has every reason to celebrate itsachievements and I join the many friends andsupporters in congratulating you and the generations of dedicated individualsfor the unique contribution you have made.”Achim Steiner, Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme

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16 WorldBirdwatch

��

The first Red List ofthreatened birdsIn 1952 ICBP started tocompile data on threatenedbirds, and in 1966, incooperation with IUCN(International Union for theConservation of Nature)produced the first Red List ofThreatened Birds. Red Lists

have had a profound effect onthe global conservation agendaby setting conservationpriorities, raising awareness,and helping focus government,institutional and donor supportfor conservation.

From the 1960s onwards,ICBP expanded its role fromresearch and lobbying to direct

involvement in conservationaction. But its structure as afederation of federations(national sections) was notwell suited to unitedconservation campaigns. So in1977 some BirdLife Partnersfounded the Working Groupof European Bird ProtectionSocieties (WEBS). This wasthe beginning of a new visionof how ICBP could worktogether. But to fulfil this newvision ICBP needed toprofessionalise and grow itsstaff capacity.

Like every other ICBPoffice holder, Phyllis Barclay-Smith had worked on avoluntary basis throughouther long involvement. Whenshe stepped down in 1978, itwas clear that ICBP neededsalaried professional staff if itwas to continue to meet itsobjectives. Other internationalconservation organisations,such as IUCN and WWF,founded long after ICBP, hadhad professional secretariatsfrom the beginning.

ICBP had been speciallymentioned as a beneficiary inthe memorandum that led to

BirdLife history

the foundation of WWF, andin 1980, help came from WWFto pay for ICBP’s first full-timepaid secretariat. From ICBP’snew headquarters inCambridge, UK, the first ICBPDirector, Christoph Imboden(Switzerland), built aprofessional Secretariat whichsoon developed conservationprojects all over the world, aswell as consolidating ICBP’sreputation as the world’sforemost scientific authorityfor birds.

“During my 25-years on theBoard of the National AudubonSociety, 15-years as Chairman,I worked on Audubon’s effortsto support BirdLifeInternational throughout theWestern Hemisphere.”Donal O’Brien,Former Chairman of ICBP

“BirdLife International’s visionresonates deeply with IUCN’sown vision of “a just world thatvalues and conserves nature”.Today, BirdLife International is akey partner of IUCN and a majorcontributor to our flagship RedList of Threatened Species. Wecouldn’t have done it withoutyou! I warmly congratulate BirdLife International,its Chief Executive Dr Marco Lambertini, all staff,Partners, Council members and volunteers on this90th anniversary— thanks to your efforts, birdconservation is clearly up and flying!”Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN Director General

Christoph Imboden became ICBP’s first salaried staff member and led thetransition to BirdLife as Chief Executive (BirdLife)

“From the Far East to Africa to the Caribbean,BirdLife International and its partners are on thefront lines of bird conservation, doing well-conceived and highly effective work. I’m proudto be a supporter.”Jonathan Franzen, Author

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December 2012 17

The beginnings ofBirdLifeBut ICBP’s efforts werehampered by its structure as afederation of many groupswith varying philosophies.Every country wasrepresented by a “nationalsection” including not onlynature conservation societies,but also museums, universitiesand zoos, governmentagencies and even huntingassociations.

In 1985, in the openingeditorial of ICBP’s newmagazine World Birdwatch,Imboden lamented: “What isstill rarely understood is thatICBP should not be seen by itsmembers as ‘them’, but as us.”With Chairman Ian Prestt(RSPB, UK), he openeddiscussion on how ICBP couldbecome “a network of strongallied national organisationsrepresenting ICBP in eacharea and portraying a cohesiveglobal image”.

Under the chairmanshipof Donal O’Brien (fromAudubon, BirdLife in the US)in 1992, the first set of 15“lead organisations” signed

the Partnership agreementwith ICBP, to replace thenational sections with onerepresentative organisation percountry. Before the officiallaunch on 3 March 1993,there was still much to be done,including finding a name forthe new organisation.The logo, a stylised ArcticTern, which migrates betweenthe Earth’s two poles, waschosen to symbolise the needfor international collaboration.

So the BirdLife Partnershipwas born. Its bottom upgovernance and structure wasrevolutionary for manyreasons, but particularly forthe focus on developing localcapacity for natureconservation in all countriesand territories of the world,as the only effective long-termanswer to continuingbiodiversity loss.

In 1996, after completingthe change from ICBP toBirdLife, Christoph Imbodenhanded over the role ofBirdLife International CEOto Mike Rands (UK), who wassucceeded in 2009 by MarcoLambertini, previouslyDirector of LIPU (BirdLifein Italy). Under theChairmanship first of GerardA. Bertrand (USA), and since2004, Peter Schei (Norway),supported by HonoraryPresidents like Her MajestyQueen Noor of Jordan andHer Imperial HighnessPrincess Takamado of Japan,BirdLife has become a globalforce for conservation.

The BirdLife Secretariattoday has around 200 staff,and is highly decentralised,with regional offices toservice, support, co-ordinateand facilitate the work of thePartnership. The BirdLifePartnership is represented inall continents and unites over7,500 staff. With more than110Partners in respectivecountries/territories, 2.7million members and 10million supporters, thePartnership has become theworld’s largest partnership fornature.

�“The GEF need civil societyPartners like BirdLife Internationalto be effective in biodiversityconservation. Support from theBirdLife Partnership is helping toensure that the GEF continues togrow as the leading source of biodiversityconservation finance in the world, and thatprogram implementation is well targeted, effectiveand efficient. The strong scientific information ofBirdLife is a huge asset to the GEF in targeting ourfinance and the civil society network helps ensurethat the GEF is well informed and linked to nationalpriorities. BirdLife is also a very effective programpartner on the ground in important regions andcountries, as well as in the marine realm too. Icongratulate BirdLife International on 90 years ofachievements for biodiversity.”Dr Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson of the GlobalEnvironment Facility

�“I greatly value the scientificexpertise, practical know how andcommitment of BirdLifeInternational to promoting natureand biodiversity which has made areally valuable contribution to

implementing the EU Birds Directive.”Janez Potocnik,European Commissioner for the Environment

LEFT Dr Mike Rands became BirdLife’s second Chief Executive in 1996.RIGHT Jerry Bertrand was BirdLife’s first Chairman (BirdLife)

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18 WorldBirdwatch

��

BirdLife history

�“The work of BirdLife allows whole areas to beprotected and preserved—unique areas of the globewhose importance is key both for our survival andfor our knowledge of the world. I am particularlypleased that my Foundation—whose commitmentto biodiversity and protection of the planet—is afaithful partner of BirdLife International, and hassigned a framework partnership allowing our effortsto be united and our approaches to be shared onseveral projects throughout the world.”His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco,Species Champion for Northern Bald Ibis

Our commonachievementsAcross all BirdLife Partners,hundreds of conservationprojects for threatened anddeclining species are underway,supported by BirdLife’sPreventing ExtinctionsProgramme. The global FlywaysProgramme unites the work ofPartners to protect stop-oversites and wintering habitats inall three main flyways.

Worldwide, the BirdLifePartnership has identified12,000 Important Bird Areas,recognised by the internationalcommunity as the most

There are over 2,000 Local Conservation Groups at Important Bird Areasaround the globe (Martin Fowlie)

“The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands has been privileged to benefit from acontinuing partnership with BirdLife International over the last 41 years, sinceour birth. In fact Birdlife International is one of the organizations thatstimulated the foundation of the Ramsar Convention and continues topromote the conservation and wise use of wetlands, by empowering local

conservation organisations and growing andmobilising a constituency of people who carefor nature. We are pleased to celebrate BirdLifeInternational’s 90th anniversary and conveyour encouragements and support to the wholeBirdLife International family.”Anada Tiéga, Secretary General,Ramsar Convention Secretariat

“I would like to take the opportunity presentedby this special anniversary to commend the workand commitment of the countless thousands ofpeople that are and have been a part of the globalpartnership of BirdLife International—its officers,council, secretariat, staff in all national partnerorganisations and community members withwhom BirdLife works—and to thank all yoursupporters around the world. Your work andsupport are essential to translating the objectivesof the Convention on Biological Diversity intoreality and to achieving the Aichi BiodiversityTargets on which the future health of the planetand human society so fundamentally depend.”Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretaryof the Convention on Biological Diversity

Dec2012History.p65 12/5/2012, 4:47 PM18

December 2012 19

comprehensive network ofessential sites for biodiversityconservation. Partners havesuccessfully lobbied for theestablishment of protected areascovering millions of hectares ofkey areas for biodiversityworldwide, most recently marineareas. Between them, BirdLifePartners own or manage over amillion hectares of naturalhabitat. BirdLife Partners areinfluencing national, regionaland international land- and sea-use policies (agriculture,forestry, fisheries, water andenergy). This is complex yetcrucial work if we are to achieveecological sustainability for allhuman activities.

Working with local people isessential for bird and natureconservation, and together theBirdLife Partners support morethan 2000 Local ConservationGroups at IBAs. Annually overa million children are involvedin BirdLife Partners’ activities.

Together we are BirdLifeLarge or small, each BirdLifePartner maintains its individualnational identity within theglobal Partnership. Through itsunique local-to-globalstructure, BirdLife ensures thatthe international programmesare informed by on-the-groundexperience, and that localaction is supported byinternational advocacy efforts

and best practice, and the highstandards of scientific rigourand performance that we havehelped develop as part of thePartnership. This results in highconservation impact, andcrucially also in long-termcommitment between Partnersand the communities that use,depend on and appreciateimportant sites and theirbiodiversity.

New challenges continue toemerge, such as climate change,deforestation, overfishing, land-use changes, and increaseddemand for energy and food.Birds are increasingly beingused as indicators of ecologicalsustainability, and excellentvehicles to conserve a healthyenvironment for all life onEarth and for human wellbeing.The BirdLife Partnership is in apowerful position to make acrucial contribution to theforthcoming challenges andopportunities in building afuture in harmony with nature.

Together as one we areBirdLife. Each Partner is acrucial component of thePartnership and, based on90 years of experience and20 years of close cooperation,together we can achieve whatalone we could not possiblyaspire to.

by Werner Müller

(James C Lowen; www.pbase.com/james_lowen)

�“Since the birth of the Global Convention onMigratory Species (CMS), a MultilateralEnvironment Agreement to conserve wide rangeof animals including many species of birds. BirdLifeInternational has strongly supported itsimplementation. By working together CMS andBirdLife International can—and do—achieve morethan either can separately. We at CMS congratulateBirdLife International on its 90th Anniversary andlook forward to continuing our close cooperation.”Bert Lenten, United Nations Environment Programme/Convention on Migratory Species

��“In our six intriguing years

with BirdLife and the Rare BirdClub, we have been bothastonished and inspired bywhat can be accomplished bya dedicated group with thepassion, outreach, andprofessionalism of the BirdLifePartnerships. It is an amazingorganisation.”Margaret Atwood & Graeme Gibson,Joint Honorary Presidents of BirdLife’s Rare Bird Club

WB

“BirdLife has proven itselfa dedicated and effectivepartner in sustainableconservation. Through itscommitment to civilsociety capacity building;its extensive network ofnon-governmentalorganizations; and thestrong scientific

underpinning guiding its conservation prioritysetting, BirdLife has made invaluablecontributions to biodiversity and criticalecosystems around the world.”Patricia Zurita, Executive Director,Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund

Dec2012History.p65 12/5/2012, 4:47 PM19

20 WorldBirdwatch

MILESTONES

International Committee for Bird Preservation is established – InternationalCommittee for Bird Preservation (ICBP) is founded becoming the “the world’sfirst truly international conservation organisation” – Prof. Curry-Lindhal.

20 WorldBirdwatch

Goal Scoring – UN Millennium Development Goals report profiles one of BirdLifeInternational’s key indicators for the first time – the degree of protection of Important BirdAreas. Today other BirdLife indicators (Red List Index, Wild Bird Index, etc.) are widely usedto measure the success of several international conventions and agreements.

Americas Directory – The Important Bird Area (IBA) inventory for theAmericas is published with 2,345 sites described. Today 12,000 terrestrialand 3,000 marine IBAs have been documented globally by the BirdLifePartnership using globally standardised criteria and 40% of which enjoysome degree of protection.

The tradition of Hima – Lebanon begins to implementthe traditional Islamic Protection of Hima at ImportantBird Areas. In 2008, this expanded thanks to a generousdonation.

BirdLife is born – ICBP becomes BirdLife International and theBirdLife Partnership is born. Initially with 20 Partners it nowcomprises 116 and continues to grow.

Leading in Conservation – The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) is launched. The CLP offerssupport to young conservationists living and working in Africa, Asia, East/South eastern Europe, LatinAmerica and the Caribbean, the Middle East and the Pacific Islands.

The European Union’s Birds Directive – ICBP European members are instrumental in getting theEuropean Union Birds Directive approved, the first EU environmental directive. Today, around 25,000sites are protected under the Natura 2000 network of the Birds and Habitat Directives.

Success with oil – ICBP’s ceaseless lobbying on oil pollution finally bears fruit withthe International Convention on Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil.

1922

1954

1970

1985

1993

2004

2009

2010

Save the Albatross – The BirdLife Partnership launches the Save the AlbatrossCampaign. The work of the Albatross Task force is now being carried out inseven countries, working at the frontline of seabird conservation in bycatch‘hotspots’ throughout southern Africa and South America.

2000

Rimatara’s Return – After an absence of more than two centuries RimataraLorikeets are reintroduced to the island of Aitu in the Cook Islands thanks to thework of Pacific Partners and many others.

2007

Dec2012Milestones.p65 12/5/2012, 4:51 PM20

September 2012 21December 2012 21

90th birthday – BirdLife international celebratesits 90th anniversary and now is the world’s largestPartnership of civil society organisations forconservation and nature.

Forest of Hope – The world’s first restorationconcession is granted to a BirdLife Partner coalition bythe Indonesian Government. Today, the 100,000hectares of Harapan Rainforest is a leading innovativeforest conservation project in South-East Asia.

Think Pink – The BirdLife Partnership is first alerted to the threat of soda ash extraction atLake Natron, Tanzania, the main breeding site for Lesser Flamingo. The “Think Pink”campaign succeeded in preventing a damaging development along the shores of the lake.

BirdLife Datazone – BirdLife launches the datazone, today, thelargest repository of information on globally important species andsites. It also contains a searchable database of more than 280 casestudies, The State of the World’s Birds.

British Birdwatching Fair – The first British Birdwatching Fair is held atRutland Water in central England. This annual event has gone on toraise over £2 million for BirdLife projects around the world from theSpanish Steppes, to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil.

First comprehensive IUCN Red List for birds produced by ICBP – In 1994,threat criteria for each species are added. Annual revisions are now producedand these are the global baseline for all species conservation work.

Cousin Island in Seychelles is purchased – ICBP purchases the first privatereserve in Cousin Island, Seychelles to save Seychelles Warbler from extinction.Today, Cousin is run by the BirdLife Partner and warblers have been translocatedto neighbouring islands. The species is no longer at risk from extinction.

Seeing Red – First Red Data Book of birds is published. Today, although there has not been a return to thedetailed Red Data Books of the 1980s, the IUCN Red List is a properly justified and documented evaluationof species at risk of extinction. That it has this depth of information and transparency is at least a partialconsequence of the persistence of the Red Data Book programme.

ICBP’s first formal conference is held in Geneva, Switzerland – The next BirdLife World Congress is being held inOttawa, Canada in 2013 and will be attended by more than 400 delegates.

1989

1928

1966

1968

1988

2001

2006

2008

2012

Dec2012Milestones.p65 12/5/2012, 4:51 PM21

22 WorldBirdwatch

FEATURE

SVS/BirdLife SwitzerlandFounded in 1922, the same yearas ICBP/BirdLife International,SVS/BirdLife Switzerland hasa structure based onSwitzerland’s cantonal system,which resembles BirdLife’sstructure on a national scale.There are over 450 local groupsand 20 cantonal associations,with a decentralized secretariatin all Switzerland’s languageregions. Thanks to SVS, manyonce-declining bird species arerecovering, and SVS speciesrecovery programmes havebecome official policy. Someconservation policy which istoday self-evident, likeprotection of hedges, orchards,and urban biodiversity, wasfirst promoted by SVS. SVSlocal groups have restoredthousands of these importanthabitats. By lobbyingParliament, SVS together withother organisations has helped

change agricultural policy tosupport biodiversity-friendlyfarming, and safeguardedforestry legislation. Using itsright to go to court, SVS hassaved many sites fromdestruction. This right hasbeen attacked, but in anational vote was upheld with66% support. Many siteswhere SVS/BirdLifeSwitzerland is active are IBAs.There is still much work to dountil they all are included inSwitzerland’s Emeraldnetwork. SVS works at severaldemonstration reserves,developing new practices formanaging them. With SVSsupport, a large delta area wasrecreated as an importantstopover site for migratorybirds. SVS co-created the firstlabel for biodiversity-friendlyproducts, now widelyused. More than 30 years agoSVS/BirdLife Switzerland

began supporting projects inother countries, first formigratory birds, then forconservation in Eastern Europe.SVS was among the firstPartners to support BirdLife’sForest of Hope Programme,and to support developingPartners via BirdLife’s Partner-to-Partner System. SVS and itscantonal associations areleading in training people tobecome specialists inbiodiversity, using toolsproduced by SVS. ThatSwitzerland finally has its firstNational Biodiversity Strategyis mainly due to SVS.

Guyra ParaguayOn Guyra Paraguay’s tenthbirthday in 2007, the nationalDiario Ultima Hora declared ita winner of the “Protagonistasde la Esperanza” (Leaders ofHope) award for outstandingconservation and development

work. Guyra has signedagreements with over 200communities to developsuccessful local conservationgroups. To date, Guyra hasacquired over 30,000 ha of land

SVS/BirdLife Switzerlandhas over 450 local groups

across the country (SVS)

Dec2012Partner profiles.p65 12/5/2012, 4:54 PM22

December 2012 23

globally. Guyra has trained over400 young conservationprofessionals, collated data forover 750 sites, with 140,000 newrecords for the 1540 vertebratespecies documented inParaguay, and published over20 books on biodiversity andconservation. Guyra monitorsland use change throughoutParaguay, and raises awarenessabout deforestation,desertification, flooding andfires, especially in theParaguayan Chaco and GranChaco.

BNHSThe Bombay Natural HistorySociety (BNHS), the oldestorganisation in the BirdLifePartnership, has beenpromoting the cause of anatural India since 1883. It wasstarted by eight Mumbaicitizens, of whom two wereIndians. One of the largestmembership-based NGOs inIndia, BNHS currently has over5,000 members. In 1998, BNHSestablished the Indian BirdConservation Network (IBCN,www.ibcn.in), a nationwidenetwork of NGOS, LocalConservation Groups, birdclubs and individualornithologists andconservationists, which workswith communities and otherstakeholders to monitor andsafeguard India’s ImportantBird Areas.

for conservation in perpetuity,and owns properties jointlywith the Mbyá Guarani andIshir indigenous communities,through which they havedemonstrated how communitiesand conservationists can worktogether to protect biodiversitywhile ensuring ancestral rightsto the land are recognised.Guyra was the first Paraguayanorganisation to develop localcapacity to combat climatechange through ruraldevelopment and forestconservation. At Guyra’s SanRafael Reserve, an award-winning project preventscarbon emissions throughavoided deforestation, andGuyra has planted 40,000native trees using localresources to restore key areasof Atlantic forest. Guyra workswith over 100 organicsmallholders, and has helpedrestore over 100 fincas withnative trees. Thanks to Guyra’shelp with GeographicalInformation Systems, Alto VeraMunicipality was able to accesspayments for ecosystemservices.

Guyra has undertakenstudies of Paraguay’s 714 birdspecies, (500 of them protectedwithin Guyra’s Reserves), andworks to conserve 94 specieswhich migrate throughParaguay. Fifty-sevenImportant Bird Areas havebeen identified and recognised

BNHS has had a closeassociation with State andCentral Governments sinceIndia’s independence. ItsHornbill House headquarters inMumbai was established withsupport from the Governmentof India. BNHS Director DrAsad Rahmani is a prominentmember of the Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests’influential National Board forWildlife, and BNHS runs theCentre on Avian Ecology, partof the Ministry’s EnvironmentalInformation System (ENVIS),which acts as India’sConvention on BiologicalDiversity (CBD) ClearingHouse Mechanism. The VultureConservation Breeding Centreswhich BNHS set up inHaryana, West Bengal andAssam in response to thecatastrophic crash in India’svulture populations aresupported by the Stategovernments, and BNHS’s workto conserve the CriticallyEndangered Jerdon’s Courser isbacked by the Government ofAndhra Pradesh.

BNHS heads the task forceadvising the Indian governmenton recovery plans for India’sthreatened bustard species,including creating protectedareas and effectively enforcinglegislation for the protection ofthe Critically Endangered GreatIndian Bustard and EndangeredLesser Florican. Like many

other BirdLife Partners, BNHSworks for the conservation ofnon-avian biodiversity too,from elephants in AndhraPradesh to giant clams in theLakshadweep Islands.

In 2004, BNHS publishedImportant Bird Areas in India:Priority sites for conservation,which identified 466 sitesthroughout the country,covering almost all India’sthreatened, restricted-range,biome-restricted andcongregatory bird species.Further sites are likely beincluded once the birdmonitoring programmeestablished by BNHS is fully-functioning and more surveysare completed, especially inpreviously under-researchedareas. Several State IBApublications are in planningand production, and will addnew sites and greater detail tothe list.

BNHS also works topromote more sustainabledevelopment, livelihoods andlifestyles in India, and runsConservation EducationCentres (CECs) in Mumbai andDelhi. BirdLife’s Indian Partneroffers training sessions,workshops, nature camps andcustomised programmes foradults, children, families andcorporations to createawareness about conservationof the country’s rich butthreatened biodiversity.

Vulture populations are starting to stabilise after years of decline thanks tothe work of BNHS and others (Ganesh H. Shankar; worldsrarest.com)

Guyra’s San Rafael Reserve is an award-winning project that preventscarbon emissions through avoided deforestation (Emily Y. Horton)


24 WorldBirdwatch

Partner profiles

Nature KenyaEast Africa Natural HistorySociety; mention NatureUganda too?) has promotedthe study and conservation ofnature in eastern Africa. Thesociety has a long tradition ofmember participation.

To achieve the greatestimpact with limited resources,Nature Kenya’s conservationprogramme has focused onImportant Bird Areas. NatureKenya coordinates the IBAprogramme, which involvesnational and localconservation advocacy andmonitoring at Kenya’s 61IBAs, and a range ofconservation actions at 18IBAs.

Actions at these 18 sitesinclude empowering localcommunities through SiteSupport Groups (SSGs). Nature Kenya hasimplemented site-basedinitiatives to provide skills andtools including institutionaland technical capacity, linkedSSGs to governmentinstitutions, initiatedconservation incentives andpromoting lesson-sharing.Nature Kenya has so farreached out to 40,000 pupils

from 150 schools, and 61,000adults, through environmentaleducation,

Over 4,000 SSG andcommunity members have beentrained in a range ofconservation and livelihoodsfields: feasibility assessment fornature-based enterprises;business management andmarketing; soft loan schemes;agroforestry; bee-keeping;conservation agriculture;participatory forestmanagement and monitoring;computer applications; tourguiding and hospitality;alternative energy sources; andinstitutional strengthening.There are SSGs at all 18 IBAswith a total membership of1,482, working withcommunities that are educatedabout the conservationchallenges facing the uniqueplants and animals under theircustodianship.

Nature Kenya promotessustainable benefits andincentives through nature-basedenterprises. Butterfly farming inArabuko-Sokoke Forest hasearned eight million Kenyashillings annually, improvingparticipating household incomeby 40–50%. The 7,754 beehives

so far supplied have thepotential to produce Ksh 46million worth of honeyannually. Communities at the18 IBAs have planted over 10.1million trees which whenmature are expected to earnthem 2.02 billion. Raising treeseedlings for sale has earnedpeople at the 18 sites Ksh 1.0million annually and eco-tourism (guiding andhospitality) has brought them1.5 million.

Nature Kenya and the SSGsadvise and lobby thegovernment about IBAprotection. Objectives includeappropriate policies and theirimplementation; nationalrecognition of IBAs and theirjoint management; expandingthe protected areas network;development that recognises thevalue of natural resources andbiodiversity; sound climatechange mitigation measures;NGO-government-communitypartnerships; and adherence tointernational obligations.Through concerted advocacyeffort, unsustainabledevelopments facing the TanaDelta, Dakatcha Woodland,Lake Naivasha and Yala swamphave been reduced or delayed.

Forest & BirdBirdLife’s New Zealand Partnerwas created in 1923, andimmediately became involved ina campaign to rid Kapiti Island,stronghold of the Little SpottedKiwi, of introduced cattle, goatsand sheep. Over the followingdecades, Forest and Bird’sadvocacy helped establishFarewell Spit as a sanctuary,and the Abel Tasman andFiordland National Parks.

In 1970 Forest & Birddelivered the third “SaveManapouri” petition toparliament, with a record264,907 signatures. Thegovernment subsequentlypledged not to raise the levels oflakes Manapouri and Te Anu.Between 1982 and 1986, Forest& Bird helped save SouthOkarito and Waikukupa StateForests from logging. Theforests were later added toWestland National Park. ThePureora and Whirinakipodocarp forests were alsosaved, and an Accord wassigned to protect a largeproportion of the West Coast’spublicly-owned rainforests.

Forest & Bird formed itsKiwi Conservation Club forchildren in 1988, and in 1991

Nature Kenya has been involved in several successful advocacycampaigns against unsustainable developments, like the Tana Delta

(Michel Laplace-Toulouse; africanlatitude.com)


December 2012 25

joined forces with theDepartment of Conservationand Bank of New Zealand tolaunch the Save the Kiwiprogramme. In 2000–2001,Forest and Bird securedgovernment funding toestablish five ‘mainland island’sanctuaries for kiwi andkokako.

After a 100-year absence, in2004 Whiteheads werereintroduced into the WaitakereRanges as part of the Forest &Bird/Auckland RegionalCouncil “Ark in the Park”project. Hihi, robin andKokako followed. In 2006, newconservation parks were createdin the South Island highcountry, and the HoroirangiMarine Reserve established adecade after Forest & Birdproposed it.

Since 2009 Forest & Birdhas been a member of thegovernment-backed Land andWater Forum. In 2010 Forest &Bird led the successfulcampaign to stop thegovernment opening nationalparks to mining, and in 2012blocked plans to build a hydro-electric dam on MokihinuiRiver, which would haveflooded 330 hectares of pristineforest. Forest & Bird currentlyleads the legal battles to protectDenniston Plateau from anopen-cast coal mine.

New PartnersBirdLife’s youngest members—those which joined during thelast decade—have beenresponsible for some of thePartnership’s most impressiveconservation achievements ofrecent years, and many arealready passing on theirexperience and expertise toother Partners in their regions.

Burung Indonesia, foundedin 2002, has more than 1,500supporters in the 29 provincesof Indonesia. As well asworking to conserve threatenedspecies, including many single-island endemic parrots, it isinvolved in participatory forestmanagement with communitieson a number of islands. Burungled the advocacy which resulted

in the creation of “conservationconcessions” under Indonesia’sForest Law.

Founded in 2003, ACBK hasbeen instrumental in drivingconservation action for SociableLapwing in Kazakhstan.Successful lobbying by ACBKresulted in the inclusion of theterm “Important Bird Area” inthe law on Specially ProtectedNature Areas inKazakhstan. Since 2007, ACBKhas recruited and trainedhundreds of members ofstudent bird clubs in birdidentification and monitoring,principles of conservation, andadvocacy and communication.

SAVE Brasil (2004) haspublished two volumes onBrazil’s IBAs, and successfullylobbied the government tocreate the Murici EcologicalStation and the Serra dasLontras and Boa Nova NationalParks, among other protectedareas. As well as developing andimplementing conservationaction plans for manythreatened species inpartnership with the BrazilianEnvironmental Agency and civilsociety organisations, SAVEBrasil provides support tocommunities and landownersadopting biodiversity-friendlypractices such as shade-grownorganic chocolate and coffee.

Nature Conservation Egypt,the first NGO dedicated to theconservation of Egypt’s naturalheritage, was founded in 2005.NCE has created a number ofsite support groups andimplemented monitoring of thecountry’s IBAs, opposeddamaging tourist developments,and is playing an active part inBirdLife’s project,Mainstreaming Conservation ofMigratory Soaring Birds intoKey Productive Sectors alongthe Rift Valley/Red Sea Flyway.

Since 2005, Nature Iraq staffhave been surveying theircountry’s rich biodiversity,which has sometimes takenthem into dangerous situations.They have provided some of themost comprehensiveinformation on wetland sites inthe Middle East, especially onthe Mesopotamian Marshes,which were drained underSaddam Hussein. Taking aleading role in rebuilding Iraq’sresearch and conservationinfrastructures, Nature Iraqprovides training andconsultative services to Iraqigovernment ministries anduniversities.

At around the time BirdLifebegan its work in Madagascarin the 1990s, a group ofMalagasy people founded anindependent NGO, Asity, which

WB

worked closely with BirdLife toidentify, monitor and protectthe island nation’s wetland andforest IBAs. Working together,BirdLife’s MadagascarProgramme and Asity evolved adistinctively Malagasyapproach to conservation thathad the full consent andparticipation of localcommunities, and helpedestablish community-basedorganisations, recognised bygovernment, which tookresponsibility for managementof natural resources. Asitysuccessfully lobbied thegovernment to providetemporary protection to manyIBAs, a step towards fullprotection. In 2008, the BirdLifeprogramme and Asity merged toform Asity Madagascar.

The Partnership’s soon to benewest member, NatureFiji-MareqetiViti, previously workedalongside BirdLife’s FijiProgramme on IBA monitoring,community conservation andsustainable livelihoods, andsurveys and conservation ofsome of the Pacific’s mostenigmatic seabirds, like FijiPetrel. NFMV has been leadingefforts to establish a NationalPark on Taveuni, Fiji’s thirdlargest island.

by Nick Langley

Nature Iraqs helping restore the Mesopotamian marshes(Nature Iraq/CIMI/BirdLife)

Dec2012Partner profiles.p65 12/6/2012, 9:29 AM25

A tremendous sourceof valuable data

Ibis

This book is aninspiration. It will make

people get out andfight to save the

world’s endangeredbirds and their habitats

New Scientist

It is a masterpiece andshould be on the shelfof every ornithologistand in the libraries of

any environmentalorganisation

(governmental or not)Melopsittacus

A working document,to be used by

conservationists on alocal, national and

international level tosave these special

places from destructionBBC Wildlife

Arguably the mostimportant

ornithological work ofthe new Millennium sofar... anyone with morethan a passing interest

in the World’s birdshas a responsibility to

buy this bookBritish Birds

Of the highest value forconservation in general

British Birds

Raises the bar veryhigh for the rest of us

The Condor

26 WorldBirdwatch

Dec2012Books.p65 12/6/2012, 9:32 AM26

December 2008 27

An importantcontribution to the

conservation ofbiodiversity in Europe

Peter L Nielsen,European Commission

The ultimate guide torange-restricted birds.

Conservationmanagers, ecologistsand birders alike will

want to own thisunprecedented work

Conservation Biology

Its usefulness toconservationists

cannot be overstatedBirding World

An invaluable andincredibly detailed

source of reference forbirds throughout the

continent, both forornithologists and

conservationistsBiodiversity and

Conservation

An extremely valuablereference for bird

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The Wilson Bulletin

One would very muchhope this book will

become a manual foreveryone involved inconservation policies

in the neotropicsIBIS

Essential referencesfor anyone with a

serious concern forseabirds and island

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Will be minedextensively for years

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The Quarterly Reviewof Biology

December 2012 27

Dec2012Books.p65 12/6/2012, 9:32 AM27

28 WorldBirdwatch

about. That SEO/BirdLifebenefitted in the past from thesupport of other countries, andnow in turn contributes to thegrowth of BirdLifeorganisations in Morocco andLatin America, is testimony tothis.

BirdLife’s greatestcontribution is probablyidentifying global conservationpriorities, at the species level(the Red Lists), and at the sitelevel, thanks to the IBAprogramme. It is also veryencouraging that BirdLifeglobally and Partners nationallyare increasingly involved indirect conservation action, withprogrammes such as PreventingExtinctions, the Albatross TaskForce and Forests of Hope.

We face many challenges,but as the BirdLife Partnershipwe are at our most powerfulwhen we join forces incampaigns and on-the-groundaction, and when we speak tothe world with one voice.”

“My lifelong quest for a returnto nature, the lost paradise,began when I was eight, whenmy family moved from the ruralPyrenees to Madrid. I studiedbiology at UniversidadComplutense, Madrid, where Icame under the influence ofProfessor Francisco Bernis, therenowned ornithologist andfounder of the SpanishOrnithological Society, nowSEO/BirdLife. This experiencemarked me forever, and I amnow a professor at the sameuniversity, and current Presidentof SEO/BirdLife.

Between 1990 and 1994,I was honoured to serve on theExecutive Committee of ICBP,precisely at the time when itbecame BirdLife International.It was an exciting time, as werestructured the organisationfrom a federation of nationalsections into a true Partnershipof national conservation NGOs.I look back on the experience,and my colleagues on the

FROM THE FRONTLINE

Rebuildingthe lostparadise withthe BirdLifePartnership

committee and at BirdLife’sheadquarters in Cambridge,with great affection, and I thinkthe growth in the effectivenessand cohesiveness of theBirdLife Partnership over thelast 20 years proves that we dida good job.

Joining the BirdLife networkwas a very positive move forSEO/BirdLife. It allowed us togrow, with the help of otherEuropean Partners, who gavefinancial aid as well as muchadvice. Being part of theBirdLife Partnership enablesSEO/BirdLife to keep learningand sharing efforts with otherPartners, and to contribute tobiodiversity conservation atcontinental and global scale, notjust in Spain. As a Partnership,we were able to lobby togetherfor the European Wild Bird andHabitat Directives, to fightthreats to Important Bird Areas,campaign to end illegal huntingin many European countries,and influence European

agriculture, fisheries and energypolicies to make them greenerand more sustainable.

The most valuable outcomeof BirdLife’s structure, in myview, is its ability to support andempower local capacity forconservation. In particular, itenables us to promote andimplement conservation indeveloping countries with thegreatest biodiversity, whereconservation structures,economic resources andscientific and technical expertiseare insufficient to meet theenormous challenges.

A significant andpermanent shift of resourcesand knowledge betweencountries with different levelsof economic and socialdevelopment is essential in tomeet global priorities inconservation, and BirdLife,with representation in 116countries and territories aroundthe world, is uniquely wellplaced to ensure this comes

Eduardo de JuanaPresident of BirdLife’s Spanish Partner, SEO/BirdLife

Dec2012Backcover.p65 12/5/2012, 5:12 PM28

June 2010 29


www.birdlife.orgBirdLife International is a UK registered charity no. 1042125

BirdLife comprises more than 100 conservation organisations working togetherto promote sustainable living as a means to conserve biodiversity

Andorra Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Belarus Belgium Belgium Belize Bolivia

Botswana Brazil Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Canada Canada Chile Cook Islands Cote d’Ivoire Cuba Cyprus

French Polynesia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iraq Ireland

Israel Italy Japan Jordan Kazakstan Kenya Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lebanon Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania

Luxembourg FYR Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Malta Mauritius Mexico Myanmar Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand

Nigeria Norway Palau Palestine Panama Paraguay Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Rwanda

Saudi Arabia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan

Tanzania Thailand Tunisia Turkey Uganda Ukraine United Kingdom Uruguay USA Uzbekistan Zambia Zimbabwe

Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominican Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Finland FranceRepublic (Malvinas)


world birdwatch special anniversary issue

Documents

datazone birdlife

production of world

oiled flamingo birdlife

ben lascelles

peter hendley

peter creed

alberto yanosky paraguayeurope

peter johan scheitreasurer