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About Us:Who We Are

Our Mission is to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people toward sustainability in the use of natural resources.

If BirdLife International didn’t exist, you’d have to invent us. People are destroying and consuming nature at a devastating rate. Birds are our early warning system. 

We are a global family of 122 national Partners covering all continents, landscapes and seascapes.

In order to save the planet, nature and species, we use our seminal bird science, collecting and analyzing data from around the world, to implement the most effective and innovative conservation measures possible.  

We are the official scientific source of information on birds for the IUCN Red List.  

Rapa Iti is famed for its unique native species. Photo © Fred Jacq.

Uniquely, we have also identified and documented more than 13,000 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) which are places of global significance for the conservation of birds and other biodiversity, creating practical tools for conservation and a wider integrated approach to conservation and the sustainable use of the natural environment.

Bird migration is one of the great wonders of the natural world. Our mascot, the Arctic Tern, migrates from one pole of the planet to the other between their breeding and wintering grounds – migratory birds don’t choose their routes randomly, they follow Flyways, 8 bird super-highways, where they stop and can rest and refuel along the way, often in one of the IBAs mentioned above.

At BirdLife we work together with our local communities along these Flyways to protect birds and biodiversity in an integrated way for the greatest conservation outcomes. 

Our network of over 2 million birders, scientists and local volunteers helps us to track, follow, analyse, conserve and understand every bird species in the world.

Select a flyway on our interactive tool and follow migrating birds to see
The Partnership in action.

We organize our work strategically around Species, Sites, Society and Systems – linking up birds, habitats and nature, and people.

In this way we can tackle effectively the underlying causes of the destruction of our planet, change our behavior and our choices to ensure our children’s and grandchildren’s future.


Our board

Baroness Barbara Young of Old Scone (UK)
Honorary Vice-President
Dr Gerard A Bertrand (USA)
Honorary Vice-President
Miss Jane Fenton (UK)
Honorary Vice-President
Mr A P Leventis (UK)
Honorary Vice-President
Mr Ben Olewine IV (USA)
Honorary Vice-President
Martin Harper
Chief Executive Officer
Dr Mike Rands
Chairman
Martin Birch
Treasurer

The BirdLife International Council

Africa

Sheku Kamara (Sierra Leone)
Dr. Vikash Tatayah (Mauritius)
Khadija Bourass (Morocco)

Americas

Amanda Acosta – Belize Audubon
Andrew Couturier (Canada)
Rodrigo. W. Soria-Auza (Bolivia)

Asia

Dian Agista (Indonesia)
Ishana Thapa (Nepal)

Europe

Kjetil Aadne Solbakken (Norway)
Lieven De Schamphelaere (Belgium)
Mika Asikainen (Finland)

Middle East

Fadi Naim Naser (Jordan)
Imad F. Atrash (State of Palestine)

Pacific

Nunia Thomas (Fiji)
Samantha Vine (Australia)

Co-opted officials

Alfred D. Chandler III (US)
John Gregory (UK)
Beccy Speight (UK)
Christie Constantine (US)


BirdLife International Advisory Group

Chair

John S. Adams (Co-Chair)
Piyush Gupta (Co-Chair)

Members

Geoff Ball
Nathalie Boulle
Nick Butcher
Alfred D. Chandler III
Christie Constantine
Sean Dennis
Scott Dresser
Peter Eerdmans
Joe Ellis
Dale Forbes

John Gregory
Pamela Isdell
James Kushlan
Tasso Leventis
His Excellency Mr. Majid Al Mansouri
Michael Mavrovouniotis
Gonzalo Saenz de Miera
Hector Morales
Benjamin Olewine IV

Susan Orr (former Chair)
Adam Riley
Deb Rivel
Mahima Sukhdev
Barry Sullivan
Terry Townshend
Kurt Vogt
Barbara Young


Our Global Leadership Team

Our Executive Team

Stuart Butchart
Chief Scientist
Richard Grimmett
Director of Conservation
Helen Bull
Chief Operating Officer
Christopher Sands
Director of Communications
E.J. McAdams
Chief Development Officer
Nina Mikander
Director of Policy

Our Regional Directors

Margaret West
Regional Director for Pacific
Paul Kariuki Ndang’ang’a
Regional Director for Africa
Ibrahim Al-Khader
Regional Director for Middle East
Ariel Brunner
Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia
Vinayagan Dharmarajah
Regional Director for Asia
Ian Davidson
Regional Director for The Americas
Keiko Suzue
Representative Director, BirdLife Tokyo

BirdLife International Annual Review

BirdLife International is a truly global partnership of environmental NGOs, national conservation organisations, all of whom share a common vision – to mobilise lasting, sustainable protection for the world’s birds, their habitats, and global biodiversity in general.

Together, we believe in a holistic approach to conservation – using the insight we gain from our rigorous studies on the health of the world’s bird species, to work for a world were nature and people live in harmony.

2021 Annual Review