About BirdLife

BirdLife International is the world’s largest nature conservation Partnership. Together we are 120 BirdLife Partners worldwide – one per country – 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.

We believe that our actions are providing both practical and sustainable solutions significantly benefiting nature and people. On this website you will find many examples of BirdLife success stories from every corner of the globe.

“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

Global overview - BirdLife in numbers

As the world’s largest nature conservation Partnership BirdLife has more than 13 million members and supporters.
This comprises 2.77 million members, and 10.8 million people who supported BirdLife Partners in 2012 without being members.
BirdLife Partner organisations worked with 7,475 local groups, including action at 2,750 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas; and our work involved 2.7 million children.
BirdLife Partners managed or owned 1,553 reserves or protected areas covering 4.3 million ha of natural areas globally.
The BirdLife Partnership employs 7,400 staff with a combined budget of US$ 539 million.

Each BirdLife Partner is an independent non-governmental organisation or NGO. Most 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.

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.

>Find a BirdLife Partner

Officers of BirdLife International

President Emeritus: Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan

Honorary President: Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado of Japan

Honorary Vice-Presidents: Baroness Young of Old Scone (UK), Gerard A Bertrand (USA), A P Leventis (UK), Ben Olewine IV (USA) and Peter Johan Schei (Norway)

Chief Executive: Dr Hazell Thompson (acting)

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), David Díaz (Ecuador) and Yvonne A Arias (Dominican Republic)

Europe: Luís Costa (Portugal), 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)

About BirdLife

Council of BirdLife International

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