About BirdLife International

Who are we?

BirdLife International is the world’s largest nature conservation partnership. Together we are 120 BirdLife Partners worldwide – one per country or territory – and growing.

We are driven by our belief that local people, working for nature in their own places but connected nationally and internationally through our global Partnership, are the key to sustaining all life on this planet. This unique local-to-global approach delivers high impact and long-term conservation for the benefit of nature and people.

BirdLife is widely recognised as the world leader in bird conservation. Rigorous science informed by practical feedback from projects on the ground in important sites and habitats enables us to implement successful conservation programmes for birds and all nature. Our actions are providing both practical and sustainable solutions significantly benefiting nature and people.

“In our six intriguing years with BirdLife, we have been both astonished and inspired by what can be accomplished by a dedicated group with the passion, outreach, and professionalism of the BirdLife Partnerships. It is an amazing organisation.”

Margaret Atwood & Graeme Gibson, Joint Honorary Presidents of the BirdLife Rare Bird Club

How do we work?

Each BirdLife Partner is an independent environmental not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation or NGO. Most Partners are best known outside of the Partnership by their organisation’s name. This allows each Partner to maintain its individual national identity within the global Partnership. Perhaps you might recognise some of the 120 BirdLife International Environmental NGOs Partners from their logos below.

BirdLife Partners work together in a collaborative, coordinated fashion across national boundaries to build a global Partnership of national conservation organisations.

The BirdLife partnership has 6 Regional BirdLife Coordination Offices throughout the world and a Global Office in Cambridge, UK – together known as “The BirdLife International Secretariat”. The Secretariat co-ordinate and facilitate the BirdLife International strategies, programmes and policies.

BirdLife in numbers

As the world’s largest nature conservation partnership BirdLife Interntional has more than 10 million members and supporters.
This comprises 2.72 million members, and 7.2 million people who supported BirdLife Partners in 2015 without being members.
BirdLife Partner Environmental NGOs worked with over 4,000 local groups, including action at more than 1,000 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas; and our work involved 1.9 million young people (under 18).
The BirdLife Partnership employs nearly 8,000 staff supported by 5,000 volunteers.
BirdLife partnership has a combined budget of US$ 636 million as of end of 2014.

Our Board

Honorary President

Her Imperial Highness

Princess Takamado of Japan

Honorary Vice-Presidents:

Baroness Barbara Young of Old Scone (UK)

Dr Gerard A Bertrand (USA)

Mr A P Leventis (UK)

Mr Ben Olewine IV (USA)

Mr Peter Johan Schei (Norway)

Chief Executive

Patricia Zurita

Chairman

Khaled Anis Irani

Treasurer

Nick Prentice

Council of BirdLife International

Africa: Achilles Byaruhanga (Uganda) and Idrissa Zeba (Burkina Faso)

Asia: Sarath Wimalabandara Kotagama (Sri Lanka) and Shawn Lum (Singapore)

Americas: Peg Olsen (USA), Jaqueline Goerk (Brasil) and Yvonne A Arias (Dominican Republic)

Europe: Nada Tosheva-Illieva (Bulgaria), Fred Wouters (Netherlands) and Mike Clarke (UK)

Middle East: Imad Atrash (Palestine) and Assad Adel Serhal (Lebanon)

Pacific: Philippe Raust (French Polynesia) and Paul Sullivan (Australia)

Our Executive Team


Director Partnership & Regions Hazell Shokellu Thompson	Director of Science, Policy & Information Melanie Heath	Chief Operating Officer John de Wet	Director of Conservation Richard Grimmett