| We believe that people will only conserve what they know and respect-- and then have the capacity to act on this knowledge and commitment. Accordingly, our efforts aim to equip our BirdLife partners with the tools and resources to engage, educate and empower decision-makers and citizens who have a stake in the future of one of our target IBAs. IAP accomplishes this by arranging staff exchanges, mentoring, training workshops, by building public awareness for natural resource conservation using social marketing campaigns, and through securing equipment needed to properly study and monitor birds. Where poverty is a key contributor to the environmental degradation of an IBA, we strive to develop mechanisms that will enable surrounding communities' residents to earn a reasonable livelihood without destroying the natural resources that both sustain their lives and those of the IBA's plant and animal communities. And, for IBA located in communities with an under-developed tradition of civil society, we will work with our partner to both develop the legal framework for environmental policies and then train citizens and cultivate leaders to guide the creation of balanced environmental and sustainable development policies and actions.
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