Birdfair 2016 project revealed

The conservation theme for this year's Birdfair at Rutland Water has now been announced, and the event will be supporting BirdLife's project 'Saving Important Bird Areas in Africa'.

In 2015, Birdfair welcomed a record 23,413 visitors to Rutland Water over the three days of the event. On 23 February, Birdfair will present the donation from the proceeds of last year's event to BirdLife International's 'Saving migratory birds over the eastern Mediterranean' project at the new Volunteer Training Centre at Rutland Water, Leicestershire, when the total will be announced publicly.

Over the next three years, Birdfair will support BirdLife International's project focusing on the world's most endangered Important Bird Areas (IBAs), and this year's emphasis will be on 'Saving Important Bird Areas in Africa'.

More than 12,000 IBAs have been identified to date and collectively they represent the largest global network of important sites for biodiversity. They are identified using internationally agreed criteria for globally and regionally threatened species, others with highly restricted ranges, bird communities restricted to biomes and internationally important congregations of birds, and these criteria are applied locally by BirdLife Partners and other experts.

Recognising that formal protection is not the only solution, BirdLife works with communities in IBAs to combine conservation with sustainable livelihoods. Another aim of the project is to encourage the next generation of 'grass roots' conservationists to save the world's threatened birds. Birdfair will fund a three-year programme to be known as the BirdLife-Birdfair Conservation Fellowship Awards, the goal of which is to develop and enable locally based, early and mid-career conservationists to conserve globally threatened birds.

Birdwatch magazine will continue supporting the fair by producing the official programme. Joint main sponsors Infocus and Viking Optics, and associate sponsors Carl Zeiss, Leica, Bushnell, Swarovski Optik, Falkland Islands Tourist Board, Nikon UK, BBC Wildlife Magazine, Naturetrek, Park Cameras, Australia's Northern Territory, Speyside Wildlife, Kowa and Panasonic have agreed to sponsor Birdfair again this year.