Abstract
Beginnings
The International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP) exists to fight the extinction of birds and the destruction of their habitats. By extinction, we mean more than the eternal, global loss of species, although this is our primary concern; but we also seek to address local extinctions, and the conservation of bird populations at the regional and national levels.
The remit for this was established in 1922, when ICBP began life at a small meeting that included Jean Delacour at the London home of Britain's then Chancellor of the Exchequer. The meeting was instigated by T. Gilbert Pearson, president of the National Audubon Society, who was visiting Europe to promote cooperation and coordination among the continent's national bird protection societies. In 1914, soon after the outbreak of the World War I, the United States had lost the last Passenger Pigeon, the Carolina Parakeet was also last recorded that same year, the Whooping Crane and the Trumpeter Swan were each down to double figures, and the Eskimo Curlew stood then (as now) at the very edge of extinction. The Americans had good cause to argue for greater international responsibility for wildlife, and particularly for migratory birds, which recognize no political boundaries and are the common trust of many nations.
At root, then, ICBP is a federation of interest groups. The groups are aligned in sections by nationality, and each section (there are nearly 70) has a vote in the regulation of ICBP's affairs at its statutory quadrennial World Conferences (which for years have been synchronized and located with the International Ornithological Congress, to minimize travel expenses). The underlying principles behind ICBP are akin to those of the French Revolution: Liberty, because ultimately that is what (in some way or another) birds confer upon those that care for them; Equality, because the system created seeks to allow everyone a voice and a vote; and Fraternity, because the intention is that the rich help the poor, the strong the weak.
For 58 years, the entire organization was maintained between World Conferences by one or two part-time or voluntary staff, most notably Miss Phyllis Barclay-Smith, who served the organization for more than 40 years. During that period, IUCN (the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) and WWF (World Wildlife Fund) were established, and ICBP was enlisted to serve them as their joint bird conservation advisor. It was one of the ironies of history that WWF was founded by a group of British ornithologists yet, because ICBP already existed with its own structure, it was seen as "in charge" of birds. So while IUCN and WWF, concentrating on non-avian issues, generated their own well-funded dynamism, ICBP limped along from World Conference to World Conference, passing resolutions that, from lack of full-time staff, it simply had no power to act upon. By the 1978 World Conference, it was obvious that birds were getting a raw deal, and ICBP needed rescuing from irrelevance. The decision was taken to create a secretariat to manage ICBP's interests more fully: WWF, RSPB (Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) and National Audubon all contributed with core funding to get the new venture under way.
The International Secretariat At first, the "new venture" consisted simply of a director, Dr. Christoph Imboden, a Swiss recruited from the New Zealand Wildlife Service. Because IUCN was then (1980) establishing its Conservation Monitoring Center in Cambridge, U.K., it was felt wise for ICBP to set up base there too and share premises. IUCN is responsible for the international Red Data Books (RDBs), the authoritative analyses of the world's threatened species, and their new center was to house the authors of the various volumes; and because ICBP had always assumed that responsibility for the bird ROB on IUCN's behalf, there was good cause to keep the offices together.
For eight years, ICBP operated out of one, then two "portakabins" (wheelless trailers) down a leafy lane in a reclaimed gravelpit on the outskirts of the old city. During that time, the secretariat grew steadily to a staff of 20, and the pressure to find its own secure home became irresistible. In July 1988, the organization eventually moved to its present headquarters in the village of Girton, still on the outskirts of Cambridge. The subsequent two years have seen the recruitment of 10 new members of staff, and already the new accommodation is being extended to cope with this institutional population bomb.
Secretariat work divides into three main areas. First, there is desk-top research, which involves accumulating and analyzing data on threatened species and critical areas. Then there is the program, which consists now of over 60 projects. Finally, there is development and publicity, whose ultimate aim is the raising of funds to keep the rest of the operation viable.
The importance of thoroughgoing research to the shaping of a responsible conservation program is discussed in the following article, "Red Data Books: how and why;' but it should be stressed that ICBP's interest in identifying priorities extends beyond threatened species analysis. Since late 1988, a Biodiversity Project has been mapping centers of avian endemism by the computerization of the ranges of all bird species restricted to 50,000 km2 of terrain. By means of such dispassionate analysis, the richest areas of endemism can be identified, for the common good of conservation in general (allowing that areas with high endemism in birds are high in other endemics - which experience bears out).
For further aid with the identification of priorities, in the past 10 years ICBP has pursued a vigorous policy of analysis of key issues and themes, drawing heavily on ornithological expertise from around the world to help synthesize the best modern data and opinion on bird conservation matters. This has resulted in the Technical Publication series, with volumes on parrots, seabirds, island birds, tropical forest birds, raptors, the value of birds, grassland birds, the world's threatened birds, avian diseases, and important areas in Europe. Volumes are expected soon on captive breeding and reintroduction, migratory birds, and cracids.
Meanwhile, a series of smaller monographs dealing with more local issues has sprung into being, with volumes on Cameroon Montane Forests, the endemic birds of Madagascar, biodiversity in the Caribbean, forest birds in Thailand, forest birds in Nepal, key forests for birds in Africa, and a French territories Red Data Book. Field projects and minor desktop studies commonly get written up as Study Reports ( 40 published to date) and often contain recommendations for future action.