African Bird Club passes £750,000 milestone for bird conservation in Africa
Thirty years of grants have supported 383 conservation projects across 53 African countries and territories.
The African Bird Club (ABC) has passed a major conservation milestone, providing £755,241 in grants for bird conservation across Africa since its Conservation Awards programme began in 1996.
Over the past 30 years, ABC has supported 383 projects in 53 countries and territories, helping around 300 individuals and organisations carry out practical conservation, scientific research, environmental education and capacity building.
Speaking at ABC’s 2026 AGM, Chair Keith Betton said:
“Passing £750,000 in grants is an important milestone, but what matters most is the impact those funds have had – supporting dedicated people, generating knowledge, protecting habitats and helping conserve some of Africa’s most threatened bird species.”
The Conservation Awards programme has grown from a modest grant scheme into an important source of support for locally led conservation. Annual funding has increased to around £30,000–£45,000, backed by individual donors, charitable trusts and partner organisations.
Demand for funding remains high. ABC receives over 100 applications each year, but current resources allow only approximately 15% of projects to be supported. Many grants provide relatively small amounts for fieldwork, community engagement and education – areas that can be difficult to fund through larger conservation programmes.
The awards have supported work on at least 120 species or species groups, with more than 60% of species-focused projects involving birds classified as Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Vultures have been a particular focus, with 23 projects in 17 countries receiving more than £53,500.
Among the programme’s achievements, ABC funding contributed to the protection of 323 hectares of Dakatcha Woodland in coastal Kenya, safeguarding important habitat for threatened species including Clarke’s Weaver, Sokoke Scops-owl and Sokoke Pipit.
In Zambia, an ABC-supported aerial survey of the Barotse Floodplain discovered three major waterbird breeding colonies. One contained an estimated 68,000 African Openbill nests, while another supported Africa’s largest known breeding concentration of African Spoonbills. The work has since developed into longer-term monitoring. Another recent project deployed camera-taps to better understand predation at nests of the White-necked Picathartes in Ghana
ABC grants have also invested in the next generation of conservationists. In Sierra Leone, funding helped establish bird clubs for young people and supported a bird guide in a local language. Around Uganda’s Kibale National Park, Village Bird Clubs have inspired more than 200 children while promoting tree planting and awareness of threatened species.
Many ABC grant recipients have subsequently developed careers in research, conservation and environmental education, while supported organisations have attracted further funding and built partnerships with communities and governments.
ABC thanks its donors, partners, volunteers and project leaders for helping make this milestone possible.
To join the African Bird Club and support its work go to: https://www.africanbirdclub.org/support-us/
12 Oct 2026
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