(a) The membership of Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux, the BirdLife Partner in France, has

The BirdLife Partnership of more than 100 national non-governmental organisations has grown from an estimated 1.7 million members in 1994 to well over 2.3 million members world-wide. In many countries, this membership is already a significant voice for the environment (see figure a). Many more individuals belong to local conservation organisations. The largest BirdLife Partners are still found in developed countries, where people tend to have substantial disposable income and the tradition of leisure birdwatching is often strong. However, Partners are growing fast in many developing countries.

(b) Recent growth in membership of NatureUganda, the BirdLife Partner in Uganda

The BirdLife Partner in Uganda still has few members compared to the country’s population (c.22 million people) but the membership is increasing at a rapid rate (figure b) and has influence out of proportion to its size. Like other BirdLife Partners, NatureUganda also engages many other people in rural areas around IBAs, through an expanding set of local Site Support Groups and many school and college students.