BirdGuides

Reimagination In 1985, ICBP, was reimagined as ‘a network of strong allied national organisations’, and relaunched as BirdLife International, with its new name and logo established in March 1993. Underlying our work are the principles that conservation action must be informed by scientific insight, and that birds see no borders – thus international collaboration is key to their protection. And so over the years BirdLife has perfected the art of local-to-global impact with a suite of extraordinary initiatives and approaches that work towards a vision of a world in harmony. Our partnership with what is now Global Birdfair, and with Tim Appleton, has been a powerful adjunct to funding specific and highly effective conservation around the globe. Flagship achievements It is impossible to mention all of BirdLife’s top moments , but some flagship achievements stand out, including BirdLife’s first land acquisition in Seychelles, the formation of the European Union’s Natura 2000 network (based on BirdLife’s inventories of Important Bird & Biodiversity Areas), the launch of the Preventing Extinctions Programme, the creation of the Albatross Task Force as a response to seabirds drowning in fishing gear, and the establishment of completely new NGOs such as Asity Madagascar, Burung Indonesia, SAVE Brasil and NatureLife Cambodia. Time. It’s time! This is our slogan to celebrate our 100th birthday and our galvanising cry for the next decade, the next century. We have changed much over the past decades as has our planet and the way we lead our lives. One hundred years – 100 times the planet has circled the sun, 100 summers of harvest, 100 autumns of leaves falling, 100 winters of hibernation and 100 springs of rebirth. By Christopher Sands Early BirdLife Partners Name Year founded Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) 1883 Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) 1889 Vogelbescherming Nederland (VBN) 1899 German BirdLife Partner NABU 1899 Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union 1901 National Audubon Society 1905 Dansk Ornitologisk Forening 1906 The East Africa Natural History Society now BirdLife Partners Nature Kenya and Nature Uganda 1909 La Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO) 1912 Aves Argentinas 1916 LÎtzebuerger Natura Vulleschutzliga (Luxembourg) Estonian Ornithological Society 1921 SVS/BirdLife Switzerland 1922 A century ago, visionary conservationists concerned about the plight of the world’s birds and the wider environment came together to form an international movement. BirdLife was born exactly one century ago as the International Council for Bird Protection (ICBP). Rooted in the foundations of a handful of campaigning national organisations, it steadily gathered momentum and eventually evolved into a powerful global voice for nature. This is how the BirdLife story began. Foundation Both our original American Partner, the National Audubon Society, and our UK Partner, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, had their germination in tackling what was called the ‘murderous millinery’ trade that was driving birds including little egrets, great crested grebes and birds-of-paradise towards extinction. Societies soon formed in other countries. Little egret – inspiration for bird conservation. Coloured Figures of Birds of the British Islands, 1885-1897 Seychelles warbler was saved on Cousin Island We know our work works. If we act in time, nature is resilient 30 j G LOBAL B IRDFAIR 2022 100 years of history – One year to inspire conservation success