Response to “European biodiversity – the private sector offer”

CONFERENCE

BRUXELLES (European Parliament )DECEMBER 1st 2009

Gareth MorganHead of Agriculture Policy (Birdlife UK)gareth.morgan@rspb.org.uk

Agriculture and biodiversity – Birdlife warmly welcomes the initiative.

The two must go together

Farmland birds have had a tough time

EU common farmland birds (2007 data)

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Old EU (33 species)

EBCC/RSPB/BirdLife/Statistics Netherlands

Farmland birds are the most threatened group of birds in Europe

• Yellowhammer population fell by 40% between 1980 and 2002 in EU15

• Little bustard in France: from ~10.000 males in 1976 to ~1.600 in 2004 (84% decline in 18 years)

• EU population of Corn buntings fell by 60% between 1980 and 2002

• Tree sparrows in the UK declined by 95% in between 1970 and 1998

The new Member States: following the trend

EU common farmland birds (2007 data)

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Old EU (33) New EU (23)

EBCC/RSPB/BirdLife/Statistics Netherlands

Why the change?No fundamental disagreement with factors identified:

• Decline of historical farming practices

• Getting landscape structure right

• Climate change

• Predation

• Introduced species

• Urbanisation, marginalisation and abandonment

But the primary issue has been changes in farming practices

• More mechanization• Greater intensity of farming • Polarization of arable and pasture• Increased use of pesticides and

fertilizers• Increased field size• Abandonment of marginal areas

• Less mixed farming• Less habitat diversity• Fewer landscape

elements• Decline of extensive

grazing• Loss of natural habitats • loss of weeds and insect

food

RSPB Image

Is there a future for multi-functional farming?

S Nagy

High Nature Value Farming – we need ecological modernisation

But in most farming systems we can’t take biodiversity for granted

A robust baseline standard…

NABU

…and thinking ahead when policies such as set-aside are changed or abolished…

RSPB

Sue Tranter (rspb-images.com)

Agri-environment schemes – public payments for public goods…

Stone curlew in England

• Under the Countryside Stewardship scheme, fallow plots were created for nesting Stone curlews.

• Pairs in central southern England increased from 45 in 1991 to 103 in 2005

RSPB

Great bustards in Castro Verde, Portugal- Agri environment makes the difference

Castro Verde, Portugal• AES implemented on the 60.000ha

Castro Verde SPA to maintain traditional crop rotations and low grazing intensities, reduce pesticide inputs and keep winter stubble

• Great bustard national population: increased from 760 to over 1400 since 1996

• Population concentrated in Castro Verde increased from 50 to 80%

• Elsewhere, 8 local populations went extinct and most others declined

So why are Farmland birds still in decline?

• Funding for agri environment and other conservation schemes is still limited• Biodiversity is still just a by-product of most CAP spending

EU budget spent on land management in b€

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• AES needs to be available everywhere• But schemes must deliver results• And this needs a big shift in CAP funds

RSPB RSPB

BirdLife

C Miller R Martin

L Boccaccio

S Benko

The challenge gets greater…

• Climate Change will bring new pressures on biodiversity• Farmland will be the main habitat through which many species will have to move to follow their shifting “climate envelope”

Simulated distribution of Grasshopper warbler in late 20th century

Simulated distribution of Grasshopper warbler in late 21st century

The EU budget – time to work together!Defend the budget – but not the status quo…

BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL

EUROPEAN DIVISION

Avenue de la Toison d’Or 671060 BRUSSELS- BELGIUM

Tel. +32 2 280 08 30www.birdlife.org

All bird images, unless indicated otherwise: Stefan Benko

All other images, unless indicated otherwise: Ariel Brunner

S benko