The Lapwing, or 'Peewit', is now a Red List species © Jacob Spinks
The Lapwing, or 'Peewit', is now a Red List species © Jacob Spinks

EU Nature policies don’t reverse farmland birds decline

New research by BirdLife Europe and partners shows that EU Nature policies can help to preserve farmland birds, but are diminished by intense agriculture.

The study, titled ‘Tracking Progress Towards EU Biodiversity Strategy Targets: EU Policy Effects in Preserving its Common Farmland Birds’, investigates agri-environmental schemes (AES) within EU legislation and directives to determine the size of their impact upon farmland bird populations.

Using data from 39 species throughout three decades (1981 to 2012), the study concludes that agricultural intensification has had a negative effect on farmland birds. EU nature policies in general, however, can reduce the declination of farmland bird populations, but it will not reverse them unless agricultural policies are redesigned to consider biodiversity, according to the study.

The protected areas Natura2000 and other EU and Horizon 2020-funded schemes do show a positive impact, but this is insufficient for tackling intensive farming.

Ariel Brunner, Senior Head of Policy at BirdLife Europe and Central Asia said: “The new study reconfirms the results of the recent commission ‘fitness check’ of the Birds and Habitats Directives: EU conservation policy works, when implemented, but cannot reverse the collapse of biodiversity as long as it is undermined by perverse policies such as the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).”

This study, published in Conservation Letters, shows how the commission is required to evaluate CAP’s ability to meet environmental objectives.

More than 100 NGOs, including Bird Life Europe, have called for a modified and “urgent” ‘fitness check’ of the CAP.

Click here to download the study.