Transcript Biodiversity the private offer Birdlife Dec2009

Response to
“European biodiversity –
the private sector offer”
CONFERENCE
BRUXELLES (European Parliament )
DECEMBER 1st 2009
Gareth Morgan
Head of Agriculture Policy
(Birdlife UK)
[email protected]
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)
Old EU (33 species)
100
90
EBCC/RSPB/BirdLife/Statistics Netherlands
%
80
70
60
20
04
20
02
20
00
19
98
19
96
19
94
19
92
19
90
19
88
19
86
19
84
19
82
19
80
50
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)
Old EU (33)
New EU (23)
100
90
%
80
70
EBCC/RSPB/BirdLife/Statistics Netherlands
60
04
20
02
20
98
00
20
19
96
19
94
19
92
19
90
19
88
19
86
19
84
19
82
19
19
80
50
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
• Less mixed farming
• Greater intensity of farming
• Less habitat diversity
• Polarization of arable and pasture • Fewer landscape
elements
• Increased use of pesticides and
• Decline of extensive
fertilizers
grazing
• Increased field size
• Loss of natural habitats
• Abandonment of marginal areas
• 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 setaside 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, PortugalAgri 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 byproduct of most CAP spending
EU budget spent on land management in b€
.
BirdLife
C Miller
S Benko
R Martin
• AES needs to be available everywhere
• But schemes must deliver results
• And this needs a big shift in CAP funds
L Boccaccio
RSPB
RSPB
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…
S benko
BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL
EUROPEAN DIVISION
Avenue de la Toison d’Or 67
1060 BRUSSELS- BELGIUM
Tel. +32 2 280 08 30
www.birdlife.org
All bird images, unless indicated otherwise: Stefan Benko
All other images, unless indicated otherwise: Ariel Brunner