The World’s Rarest project began in 2010 – the year proclaimed by The United Nations as the International Year of Biodiversity. It is a not-for-profit initiative that aims to highlight the plight of the most threatened species on Earth and to raise funds to support their conservation.
The World’s Rarest project will focus initially on
birds and contribute to BirdLife International's Preventing Extinctions Programme. The project starts with the launch of our
exciting photo competition, which will provide the images for a new book entitled The World’s Rarest Birds.
The World’s Rarest Birds is the successor to the Rare Birds Yearbook, which highlighted the Critically Endangered species and was published in 2007 and 2008. This proved to be very effective in raising funds to support BirdLife's Preventing Extinctions Programme.
The World’s Rarest Birds will have a wider remit – it will cover the 362 Endangered and 65 Data Deficient species in addition to the 192 that are Critically Endangered, many of which are on the verge of extinction. It will also cover four species that now only exist in captivity. The book will define the status of each of these 623 species and describe what is being done to save them.
The World’s Rarest Birds is due to be published by WILDGuides in 2011. It will be a beautifully illustrated book featuring hundreds of photos taken by bird photographers and ornithologists from across the world. These photos will be selected from the entries into our international photo competition. Winning entries will be awarded prizes generously donated by the main sponsors, Minox and Lynx Edicions.
