Government helps farmland birds with set-aside replacement
28/07/2008 11:38:57
Linnet; Carduelis cannabina; male; perched on gorse. Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com).
July 2008. The government is belatedly helping farmland birds, which have declined by almost 50% in the last 40 years.
Farmers in England will not receive subsidies unless they leave a small part of their farm for wildlife, creating feeding and nesting sites for species like skylarks, yellowhammers, corn buntings and linnets.
Set-aside scrapped
The move, announced today by Environment Secretary Hilary Benn, will help replicate the environmental benefits of set-aside, an over-production measure that was scrapped last year.
This new measure will be effective from 2009. Farmers will also be asked to voluntarily manage small patches of land less intensively.
Gareth Morgan, Head of Agriculture Policy at the RSPB, said: "This is a massive step forward for the environment. Set-aside was never supposed to help wildlife but, with so much other land farmed so heavily, it became a sanctuary for many species.
"Many much-loved birds like skylarks, yellowhammers and lapwings have been thrown a lifeline by this decision, which will help bring birdsong back to many parts of the countryside. It's a great shame it has come too late for this year but, with the government's green farming schemes, is still the most comprehensive plan for English wildlife for a long time."
Species % change 1970-2006 Greenfinch 48 |
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Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) male in spring. David Kjaer (rspb-images.com)
Scotland needs to follow suit
In Scotland, the reduction of set-aside to 0% was particularly badly timed as it coincided with a lack of agri-environment funding. Together with the increase in grain prices, this meant that many farmers felt that they had no choice but to cultivate areas which had previously been set-aside. Scottish Government research indicates that 75% of the 70,000ha previously managed as set-aside has already been lost. This represents lost habitat for a range of declining wildlife.
Similar measures are already in place in other countries. For several years, France has had a requirement that arable farmers must keep 3% of their land in buffer strips. In Switzerland, land managers should include up to 10% of their land in ecological compensation areas, managed specifically for wildlife. It's vital that the Scottish Government takes a similar stance quickly, to help stop countryside biodiversity from dwindling further.67% of farmland birds in decline
The government has a target for reversing farmland bird declines by 2020 but figures published last week show that 13 of the 19 species making up the government's farmland bird index for England continue to decline.
Tree sparrows, corn buntings and yellowhammers are amongst the biggest losers, all species highly dependent on set-aside.
Farmers' subsidies are already dependent on the condition of their land and the RSPB believes payments should be linked to wildlife as well. This will now happen from next year.
- In East Anglia, 80 per cent of linnets spent the winter on set-aside, compared to one per cent on winter cereals.
- In France, the little bustard was dependent on set-aside. In Austria, set-aside as important to birds of prey in winter and many farmland birds. In Denmark, corn bunting numbers have dropped following the ploughing of set-aside.
- Stone-curlews, a very rare species, have risen significantly in number with many nests on set-aside land.
- Set-aside improved water quality by keeping land next to watercourses free of fertilisers. In this way, it has partly compensated for environmental damage caused by agricultural intensification.
- Similar measures are urgently needed in the other UK countries most notably Scotland.
This graph shows the overall fortunes of the 19 farmland birds making up the government’s farmland bird index for England.
