Over the millennia, and across all cultures, people have developed an intimate bond with birds (, ). Their ubiquity, activity, colour and song have made them a constant feature of art and music (). Birds are also economically important—with almost half of all species having been utilised in some way by humans (, , ). Despite, or perhaps because of, an increasingly urban, technology-driven world, our fascination and love for birds continues to grow. Today, over 80 million people in the USA watch or feed birds, while almost one in three people in the UK do so. Birdwatching is now big business and a major source of income in many areas (, ). For many, birds are their principle connection to the natural world—an important link to the biological systems upon which we all depend.

Despite our love of birds, one in eight is threatened with extinction mostly as a result of human activities. Saving birds from extinction is BirdLife International’s main conservation objective—however, it is people who are at the heart of the organisation. BirdLife is the largest conservation network of its kind, bringing together 117 national conservation organisations in 116 countries and territories (). More than 7,000 people are employed across the Partnership and BirdLife is actively engaged in developing the next generation of young conservationists from around the world. Today, the Partnership has over 2.5 million members and a further 10 million supporters worldwide—a large and growing global constituency who care for birds and the wild places they inhabit.

	The BirdLife Partnership has grown to encompass 117 NGOs in 116 countries and territories with a network presence in 120 countries (77 Partners and Partner Designates, 40 Affiliates and 4 Country Programmes).

BirdLife’s ‘local-to-global’ structure gives it an international perspective and profile whilst remaining responsive to national situations. Recent international campaigns to safeguard Tanzania’s Lake Natron, Poland’s Rospuda Valley (), Uganda’s Mabira Forest () and Kenya’s Amboseli National Park () demonstrate how this can help to galvanise public support and civil society in opposition to damaging proposals. BirdLife Partners are often involved in major national campaigns and protests. For instance, NABU (BirdLife in Germany), recently supported a huge demonstration in Berlin against the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Similarly, in Auckland, New Zealand, environmental organisations including Forest & Bird (BirdLife in New Zealand) helped organise a rally against the mining of pristine conservation lands that attracted over 40,000 people. Volunteers are often the life-blood of Partner organisations. The RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) has over 13,000 volunteers, with at least nine volunteers for every paid member of staff, whilst Forest & Bird calculate that their network of volunteers contribute 864,000 hours each year towards protecting New Zealand’s wildlife. Volunteers also play an important role in monitoring bird populations—around the world hundreds of thousands of members of the public are giving their time and data to citizen science projects ().

Conservation action is often best achieved by empowering local people. For example, the Society for Protection of Nature in Lebanon (BirdLife in Lebanon) and other BirdLife Partners in the Middle East have championed the revival of hima, a traditional land stewardship system that enables communities to take responsibility for managing local resources (). Since the late 1990s, BirdLife has been building a network of grassroots groups, known as Local Conservation Groups (LCGs) to harness local expertise and enthusiasm. These groups now work at more than 2,000 IBAs around the world and undertake a wide-range of activities including site management (, ) and monitoring (, ), local advocacy, education and awareness (), and sustainable livelihood development ().

Conserving biodiversity and eliminating poverty are linked global challenges. The poor, particularly the rural poor, depend on healthy ecosystems and the benefits they provide, including the provision of clean air, pure water and fertile soils, the pollination of crops and the recycling of nutrients (). The loss and degradation of wild nature can disrupt and diminish these essential ecosystem services with severe economic, social and environmental impacts on communities (). Around the world, BirdLife and its Partners are empowering local communities to conserve and restore degraded ecosystems (, ) and develop sustainable livelihood options (, , , ). For example, at the Arabuko–Sokoke Forest Reserve, Nature Kenya (BirdLife in Kenya) has collaborated with local people to develop sustainable, income-generating activities based around forest conservation—these include honey production, butterfly farming and ecotourism (). Linking biodiversity more clearly to people’s livelihoods and working alongside those who will ultimately benefit from conservation the most is the best way to achieve effective and sustainable conservation action.

	The BirdLife Partners in Africa have published a report on their experience of working with Local Conservation Groups. This report underlines the principle that effective biodiversity conservation must coincide with sustainable natural resource management for the benefit of local people. Click here to download the report .....other reports on BirdLife's work with people

To access more case studies on birds and people, please click on the following links.

• The Resplendent Quetzal in Aztec and Mayan culture
• Bird Conservation Nepal is assessing ecosystem services at Important Bird Areas
• Feathers have always been used by humans as decoration and status symbols
• The Goldfinch in Renaissance art
• Megapode eggs are an important source of food to many Indo–Pacific communities
• Seabird guano, especially from Peru, transformed western agriculture in the nineteenth century
• Nearly half of all bird species are used directly by people
• Birds control insect pests in farmlands and forests
• Arabian Babblers, status anxiety and overconsumption
• Birds have huge popular appeal, and the amount of information about them is impressive
• The sustainable use of wetland resources can benefit both wildlife and local communities
• Community led wetland restoration in Nigeria
• Sugarcane plantations in the Tana River Delta threaten Kenyan birds, biodiversity and livelihoods
• Understanding local needs: the role of Important Bird Areas in people’s livelihoods
• Using direct payments as an incentive for IBA conservation in Madagascar
• Improved livelihoods at Arabuko–Sokoke Forest in Kenya
• Bird conservation organisations are increasingly engaging with policy work
• The Berga Floodplain Site Support Group - a local initiative for a globally important site
• Ecosystem services demonstrate the socio-economic value of IBAs
• Conservation for birds and other biodiversity in Asia: a guide for governments and civil society
• Soda extraction plant at Lake Natron, Tanzania, threatens East Africa’s Lesser Flamingos
• Nature and people’s wellbeing: examples from Europe
• Membership of bird conservation organisations is growing world-wide
• ‘Birding routes’ in South Africa: integrating livelihood development with biodiversity conservation
• Restoring forest ecosystems will help buffer communities against climate change
• Developing sustainable livelihood options will help communities adapt to climate change
• Campaign to save the Rospuda Valley in Poland from a proposed road development
• Developing civil society networks to conserve Important Bird Areas in eastern Nepal
• 'Nature-friendly' fish-farming techniques in Hungary bring economic benefits
• Protected-area designation may not be the full, or best, solution for conserving African IBAs
• Developing a market-based solution to the bird trade in Indonesia
• Healthy forests are benefiting local livelihoods in Pakistan
• Campaign on saving Mabira Forest in Uganda from sugarcane plantation for biofuels
• The traditional approach of Hima: conserving Important Bird Areas and empowering local people
• Securing the future of Amboseli National Park by stimulating public debate
• Towards sustainable hunting in the Middle East
• For birds and people in the Jordan Valley: a landscape approach
• Collaboration between conservationists and local religious leaders can safeguard IBAs
• Mangrove ecosystems provide numerous benefits including protection against sea level rise
• Managing coastal wetlands for people and biodiversity in the Humber estuary, UK
• Safeguarding wetland ecosystems is vital for local communities
• Working with Community Forest Users Groups in Nepal
• Community conservation action is showing success on Mount Oku, Cameroon
• Involving local communities in the assessment and monitoring of biodiversity
• Birds as a 'Quality of Life' indicator in the United Kingdom
• Monitoring Important Bird Areas in Africa
• Local knowledge surveys can help track threatened species: the example of Horned Curassow
• Citizen scientists help push conservation forwards
• Working together to conserve flamingos at a network of sites in the High Andes

   

Links
BirdLife news archive: Proud moment as BirdLife Partnership in Africa launches Local Conservation Groups report
BirdLife website—BirdLife Partnership
BirdLife website—Developing capacity
BirdLife website—Action on the Ground
BirdLife Report—Livelihoods and the environment at Important Bird Areas: Listening to local voices
BirdLife Report—Partners for sustainability: What BirdLife is doing for people and the planet 
BirdLife Report—Partners with nature: How healthy ecosystems are helping the world's vulnerable adapt to climate  
Birds & People: A global celebration of birds in human culture

Compiled 2011

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2011) Spotlight on people. Presented as part of the BirdLife State of the world's birds website. Available from: http://www.birdlife.org/datazone