Logo for InfluenceWatch InfluenceWatch

Donate
Other Group

Birdlife International

Website:

www.birdlife.org/
Type:

Private Company
Founded:

1922
CEO:

Patricia Zurita
Headquarters:

David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street
Location:

Cambridge, England

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Birdlife International is a left-of-center conservationist organization based in the United Kingdom. It had 122 partner organizations in 2017, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, a conservation charity based in the United Kingdom, and the American Bird Conservancy. 1

Birdlife International cut ties with the Taiwan Wild Bird Federation, one of Birdlife International’s partner organizations, after the Taiwan Wild Bird Federation refused to sign a document declaring it would not advocate for the independence of Taiwan. 2

The organization receives grants from private grantmaking organizations including the Bezos Earth Fund, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Cultures of Resistance Network. 3 4 5

Background

Birdlife International is a left-of-center conservation organization created in 1922 under the name International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP). It was the world’s first international conservation organization. 6

The organization helped create the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), officially the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, in 1948. IUCN is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. 7

European member organizations of ICBP pushed for the approval of the European Union Birds Directive, the first environmental legislation of the European Union, in 1970. The European Union is a political and economic union of 27 member states in Europe as of June 2020. The EU functions as a multi-national government, with regulatory authority, a common citizenship and border, and a common foreign and security policy. 8

The International Council for Bird Preservation was relaunched as Birdlife International in 1993, imposing a new partnership structure that prioritized a single Birdlife International partner in each country. 9

Affiliated Organizations

Birdlife International had 122 partner organizations in 2017, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, a conservation charity based in the United Kingdom, and the American Bird Conservancy, an environmentalist organization specializing in bird conservation that advocates for left-leaning environmental policies in the name of conservation across the world, focusing primarily on the Western Hemisphere. 10 11 12

Birdlife International is linked to the United Nations, an intergovernmental agency founded after World War II to provide a forum for peaceful international dispute resolution. Birdlife International provided input on themes that would be discussed during the 2017 United Nations Ocean Conference. 13

Birdlife International is a member of the Nature 4 Climate Initiative, a London-based program of the Nature Conservancy that collaborates with international left-of-center environmentalist groups and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to promote left-of-center environmental policies. 14

Political Activities

Birdlife International cut ties with one of its international partners in 2020 over issues unrelated to bird conservation. The Taiwan Wild Bird Federation (TWBF) was one of Birdlife International’s partner organizations before Birdlife International removed the organization after it refused to sign a document declaring it would not advocate for the independence of Taiwan. TWBF refused the demand, stating it was “overreach” and forcing the organization to take a political stance. 15

Birdlife International also reportedly denied that the decision was due to pressure from the People’s Republic of China, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan. 16

Funding

According to the organization’s company accounts in 2021, Birdlife International received £24.3 million (approximately $31 million) that year, a 7 percent reduction in income from 2020, which amounted to £26.1 million (around $33.3 million). 17

Birdlife International’s expenses amounted to £24.7 million (around £31.5 million) in 2021, which was less than in 2020 when it had £23 million (approximately $29.3 million) in expenses. 18

Birdlife International is funded by various organizations, private grantmaking foundations, and government agencies. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act, created by the Fish and Wildlife Service, was launched to issue a “single source financial assistance grant award” to Birdlife International. The grant was for a minimum of $83,000 and a maximum of $600,000. 19

The Bezos Earth Fund is a left-of-center charitable project launched by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in February 2020. Bezos endowed the Fund with $10 billion to be disbursed by 2030 to environmentalist projects aimed at combatting climate change. The Bezos Earth Fund announced on December 6, 2021, that it was granting two grants worth a combined total of $17 million to Birdlife International. The grants were made to scale up two partnerships of Birdlife International, Conserva Aves (Conserve Birds) and its Key Biodiversity partnership. 20 21

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (also known as the MacArthur Foundation) is a left-of-center private grantmaking organization that, from 2000 to 2017, granted an average of just over $200 million each year to programs in support a large number of left-of-center causes including disarmament, environmentalist policy, population control, and abortion rights. The MacArthur Foundation has granted just under $7.4 million via 25 grants to Birdlife International between 2000 and 2019. 22 23

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation is a left-of-center foundation created by David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, that supports environmental causes, population control programs, and three programs created by David Packard: the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the Packard Fellowships in Science and Engineering. The foundation has granted Birdlife International a total of $3,587,465 via nine grants between 2018 and 2022. 24

The Gordon E. and Betty I. Moore Foundation (also known as the Moore Foundation) was created by Intel founder Gordon Moore and his wife Betty in 2000. The foundation granted a total of $499,000 to Birdlife International in October 2021. 25

The Arcadia Fund, a United Kingdom-based conservation charity, granted Birdlife International $1.5 million in 2009, and $1.8 million in 2013. 26

The Cultures of Resistance Network is a radical-left anti-war, environmentalist, and social-change organization funded by activist Iara Lee and her deceased husband George Gund III under the name Caipirinha Foundation. Although the grant amount was not detailed, the Cultures of Resistance Network notes that it has provided five grants to Birdlife International between 2011 and 2021. 27 28

References

  1. “Our Partners.” Birdlife Europe and Central Asia. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.birdlife.org/europe-and-central-asia/our-partners/
  2. Brown, Simon Leo. “Why did Birdlife International expel the Taiwan Wild Bird Federation? What does it have to do with China?.” ABC News. October 11, 2020. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-12/birdlife-international-taiwan-china-wild-bird-federation-split/12742988.
  3. “Bezos Earth Fund Bets on Birds.” BirdLife International. December 6, 2021. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.birdlife.org/news/2021/12/06/bezos-earth-fund-bets-on-birds/.
  4. “BirdLife International.” MacArthur Foundation. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.macfound.org/grantee/birdlife-international-32320/.
  5. “Birdlife International.” Cultures of Resistance – We promote and support or. February 24, 2013. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://culturesofresistance.org/groups-we-support/birdlife-international/.
  6. “100 Years of BirdLife.” BirdLife International. June 19, 2023. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.birdlife.org/birdlife100/.
  7. “100 Years of BirdLife.” BirdLife International. June 19, 2023. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.birdlife.org/birdlife100/.
  8. “100 Years of BirdLife.” BirdLife International. June 19, 2023. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.birdlife.org/birdlife100/.
  9. “100 Years of BirdLife.” BirdLife International. June 19, 2023. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.birdlife.org/birdlife100/.
  10. “The Americas.” BirdLife International. June 8, 2023. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.birdlife.org/the-americas/.
  11. “Our Partners.” Birdlife Europe and Central Asia. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.birdlife.org/europe-and-central-asia/our-partners/
  12. “inputs to the concept papers on themes of the UN Ocean Conference partnership dialogues.” Accessed June 19, 2023. https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/documents/13600BirdLifeInternational_inputsPartnershipDialogue_Theme2.pdf.
  13. “inputs to the concept papers on themes of the UN Ocean Conference partnership dialogues.” Accessed June 19, 2023. https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/documents/13600BirdLifeInternational_inputsPartnershipDialogue_Theme2.pdf
  14. “About Us.” Nature 4 Climate. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://nature4climate.org/about/.
  15. Brown, Simon Leo. “Why did Birdlife International expel the Taiwan Wild Bird Federation? What does it have to do with China?.” ABC News. October 11, 2020. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-12/birdlife-international-taiwan-china-wild-bird-federation-split/12742988
  16. Brown, Simon Leo. “Why did Birdlife International expel the Taiwan Wild Bird Federation? What does it have to do with China?.” ABC News. October 11, 2020. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-12/birdlife-international-taiwan-china-wild-bird-federation-split/12742988.
  17. “BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL filing history.” GOV.UK. December 31, 2021. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02985746/filing-history.
  18. “BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL filing history.” GOV.UK. December 31, 2021. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02985746/filing-history.
  19. “National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act.” Federal Grant. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.federalgrants.com/National-Fish-and-Wildlife-Foundation-Establishment-Act-58084.html.
  20. “Bezos Earth Fund Bets on Birds.” BirdLife International. December 6, 2021. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.birdlife.org/news/2021/12/06/bezos-earth-fund-bets-on-birds/.
  21. Gamboa, Glenn. “Bezos plans to spend $10 billion by 2030 on climate change.” AP News. March 9, 2021. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://apnews.com/article/climate-climate-change-jeff-bezos-bee1aea9cffc377400048dcb5b7405f0.
  22. “BirdLife International.” MacArthur Foundation. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.macfound.org/grantee/birdlife-international-32320/.
  23. “Annual Essays.” MacArthur Foundation. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.macfound.org/about/annual-reports.
  24. “Search Our Grants.” The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.packard.org/grants-and-investments/grants-database/?grant_keyword=birdlife+international&program_area=&award_amount=&award_year=
  25. “Birdlife International.” Moore Foundation. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.moore.org/grant-detail?grantId=GBMF10843.
  26. Fund, Arcadia. “Our Grants.” Protecting endangered culture and nature and promo. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.arcadiafund.org.uk/grant-directory?keywords=birdlife+international.
  27. “Birdlife International.” Cultures of Resistance – We promote and support or. February 24, 2013. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://culturesofresistance.org/groups-we-support/birdlife-international/.
  28. Sumortin, Evan. “Cultures of Resistance.” We promote and support organizations, activists, a. June 15, 2023. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://culturesofresistance.org/.
  See an error? Let us know!