LOWLAND FARMLAND BIRD RECOVERY: A DEFINING MOMENT?
Andy Evans*1, Jeremy Wilson2 & Phil Grice3
1 RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL, UK
2 RSPB, Dunedin House, 25 Ravelston Terrace, Edinburgh EH4 3TP
3 Natural England, Northminster House, Peterborough PE1 1UA
* Email: andy.evans@rspb.org.uk
The problems facing our biosphere seem to grow on a daily basis, led by the unfolding spectre of climate change, which in turn is driven by population growth and global economic development. Never has the need to turn the concept of ‘sustainable development’ into a reality been more urgent. The long-term, precipitous and contemporaneous declines of many lowland farmland bird species driven by agricultural intensification in pursuit of maximum yields, is a prime example of what can happen if we abandon the concept of sustainability for short term gain. In the UK we are all a little richer as a result of the success of the farming industry in reducing food prices, yet at the same time very much poorer following the collateral loss of wildlife as agricultural ecosystems have been pushed rapidly towards monoculture. For the past 20 years, the conservation community in the UK has worked with Government to compile a compelling evidence base comprising ecological research to diagnose the cause of the declines and applied research to test pragmatic management solutions. The collaboration has continued to design a suite of practical delivery mechanisms to deploy the most suitable management options, principally through agri-environment schemes. In 1999 the Government adopted the composite Farmland Bird Index as one of 15 indicators of sustainability. A year later, this Index was adopted as a success measure for an ongoing Public Service Agreement (PSA) target with the Treasury which aims to reverse the decline in farmland birds by 2020. In 2007 the Index stood at its lowest level since records began in the 1960s. Despite all the effort, expertise and apparent goodwill, conservationists are not winning struggle to reverse these declines in our common and widespread farmland birds. This is despite notable successes in reversing the declines of the rarest species – corncrake, stone curlew and cirl bunting – through highly targeted management within their remaining ranges. Furthermore there are now several examples of increases in the more common species at a local level in response to sympathetic management initiated alongside profitable farming enterprises.
Agriculture is now at a cross roads; the need to feed a growing human population underpins arguments for ever greater levels of food production and ever increasing yields. On the other hand, the environmental costs of the process of agricultural intensification (of which biodiversity loss is just one) are widely perceived to be unacceptable. Management for environmental goods and services, including wildlife, must therefore be a central concern if future agricultural development is to be sustainable. Here we synthesise the specific challenges facing farmland bird recovery in this changing world, and suggest potential solutions.
