BirdLife South Africa

The mission of BirdLife South Africa is to promote the enjoyment, conservation, study and understanding of wild birds and their habitats.

Nomenclature History

1905-1929: South African Ornithologists' Union
1930-1975: South African Ornithological Society
1976-1996: Southern African Ornithological Society
1996- present: BirdLife South Africa

BirdLife South Africa's aims are to:

Prevent the extinction of any bird species
Maintain and where possible improve the conservation status of all bird species
Conserve and where appropriate improve and enlarge sites and habitats that are important for birds
Help, through birds, to conserve biodiversity and to improve the quality of people's lives
Integrate bird conservation into sustaining people's livelihoods.

There are many reasons why we should conserve birds, including:

Birds are an important component part of the world's biodiversity, providing important ecosystem services
The bird watching industry is a growing economic force.
Societies value birds for economic, cultural, ethical and spiritual reasons. In parts of Africa a special relationship exists between birds and local cultures. Birds have inspired artists, and bird images are frequently used to adorn everyday objects like coins, bank notes and postage stamps. Birds are increasingly becoming key elements in revenue generating eco-tourism.
Birds are indicators of the state of the environment. In general, places that are rich in bird species are also rich in other forms of biodiversity. Their presence indicates a healthy environment.
BirdLife South Africa's four conservation goals:

BirdLife International

BirdLife International is a global partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. BirdLife International partners operate in more than 100 countries and territories worldwide. BirdLife International partners collaborate on regional work programmes in every continent.

By focusing on birds, and the sites and habitats on which they depend, the BirdLife International partnership is working to improve the quality of life for birds, for other wildlife (biodiversity), and for people.

The BirdLife International partnership strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.

The BirdLife International partnership has:

More than 4 000 staff working for conservation
Over 2 500 000 members worldwide
10 million worldwide supporters
Over two million children involved annually
Over one million hectares owned or managed

BirdLife partnership 90/20 Anniversary

Did you know that

the BirdLife Partnership is the world largest partnership of national civil society organisations working for nature
together the BirdLife Partnership can achieve much more than any of the Partners alone
the successes of BirdLife International should be owned and celebrated by every single Partner and its constituency
the oldest BirdLife Partner is the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS, BirdLife in India, founded 128 years ago in 1883) followed by RSPB and NABU
the BirdLife Partnership in its present form will soon be 20 years old and that it has roots that go back as far as 90 years?

BirdLife South Africa plans to take part in the BirdLife 90/20 anniversary celebrations. Watch this space for more details about the events planned.

For more information, please contact Nikki McCartney, Marketing & Awareness on 083 636 1060 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it