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Meadow bird landscape

Breeding birds as a farm product Direct payment in the Netherlands Kees Musters, Hans de Graaf & Wim ter Keurs Environmental Biology IEES, Leiden University The Netherlands. Meadow bird landscape. Black-tailed Godwit. Nest protection. Need for conservation policy. National population.

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Meadow bird landscape

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  1. Breeding birds as a farm product Direct payment in the Netherlands Kees Musters, Hans de Graaf & Wim ter KeursEnvironmental BiologyIEES, Leiden UniversityThe Netherlands

  2. Meadow bird landscape

  3. Black-tailed Godwit

  4. Nest protection

  5. Need for conservation policy National population

  6. Governmental conservation measures:extensify agriculture in ‘environmental sensitive areas’ • Reserves • Contracts with farmers • no changes in water level • no changes in land use • not mowing or grazing before June 15th • financial compensation for loss of income

  7. Area: restricted Farming: restricted Check: measures Meadow birds: not assessed Agr.-conserv.: confict Costs (euro): 100-400 Overviewcontracts in ‘environmental sensitive areas’

  8. Resultsreserves and contracts in ‘environmental sensitive areas’ • Meadow birds: decrease seemed stopped • People: • great resistance among farmers: restricted agricultural practice • promoted conflict between conservationists and farmers • Government: high costs • Searching for an alternative

  9. Alternative • Criteria • increase breeding success • not restrict farmers • not be expensive • Direct payment • reward farmers for the presence of incubated meadow birds clutches on their land

  10. Direct paymentscheme • At one day in spring • incubated clutches are searched • these clutches are marked • a report is made of number and location of these clutches • Within three days • the report may be verified by a checking agency • Farmers are rewarded for each clutch • rare species are rewarded highly; common species low

  11. Area: restricted not restricted Farming: restricted not restricted Check: measures clutches Meadow birds: not assessed assessed Agr.-conserv.: conflict co-operation Costs (euro): 100-400 40 Overviewcontracts versus direct payment Contracts Direct payment

  12. Resultsdirect payment experiment

  13. Resultsdirect payment • Meadow birds: nest success is increased • People: • farmers enthusiastic: meadow birds are their product • nature conservationists help farmers in searching and protecting incubated clutches • implemented in ‘unions of agricultural nature conservation’ • Government: low costs

  14. Problems? • Organisation • frictions between unions and the national government on payment and payment-base • Publicity • Kleijn et al. (2001): agricultural nature conservation does not increase populations • for meadow birds methodologically not correct • did not study reserves • did not study direct payment • Prejudice against schemes in which citizens are paid for producing nature values

  15. Results? National population

  16. Present state • Total grassland area: 1.000.000ha • Volunteers: 325.000 ha • Reserves: 20.000 ha • Contracts: 44.000 ha • Unions: 37.000 ha

  17. Conclusions • Direct payment: • for nature: nest success is enlarged • for people involved: farmers are enthusiastic and co-operate with nature conservationists • it may be relatively cheap • It has to be defended against prejudice by showing its effectiveness for conserving populations

  18. Follow-up • Study population effects • New schemes • Already in practice: plants in ditch banks • Research: aquatic plants and animals in ditches

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