Small wildlife of fields and meadows in Europe Jurgen TACK, Alain SCRIBAN, Valérie VANDENABEELE, Anne-Sophie MULIER, José GOMEZ-ACEBO, Josef JARY, Amedeo MISSIR di LUSIGNANO, Martin FOX, Stephanie VAN MEENEN & Charles de FIERLANT DORMER Small wildlife of fields and meadows in Europe Jurgen TACK (Scientific Director, ELO), Alain SCRIBAN (Special Advisor, ELO), Valérie VANDENABEELE (Project & Policy Coordinator, ELO), Anne-Sophie MULIER (Project Coordinator, ELO), José GOMEZ- ACEBO (Project & Policy Coordinator, ELO), Josef JARY (Project Coordinator, ELO), Amedeo MISSIR di LUSIGNANO (ELO), Martin FOX (ELO), Stephanie VAN MEENEN (ELO) & Charles de FIERLANT DORMER (ELO) January 2021 SMALL WILDLIFE OF FIELDS AND MEADOWS IN EUROPE 2 Acknowledgments It is my pleasure to thank the authors of this study, which is made in the framework of the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and other major strategies such as the «Green Pact for Europe» to fight against climate change and environmental degradation and the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 aiming to restore biodiversity. This ambitious project required the Thierry de l’Escaille coordination of a multinational and Secretary General ELO multisectoral team under the leadership of Jurgen Tack. The work done initiated already constructive debates in many policy-oriented meetings in various EU Member States on the valuable contribution the small fauna of the plains could have for biodiversity and related management practices. This work would probably not have seen the light of day if it had not been initiated in particular by friends such as Éric Jolly or Tony de Kettenis. Aware of the problem of the state of biodiversity and climate change, they called for the idea of a study offering both a scientific inventory and recommendations. In the same way, this work could not have been carried out without the support of major private (in particular the ‘Fondation Sommer) or public bodies (including the French Office for Biodiversity OFB in partnership with the AGPB) as well as the Wildlife Label network. The recommendations in this study are based on experience and have already demonstrated their added value towards ambitious and sustainable objectives. I would like to thank all of them very warmly. I dedicate this study to all the actors of the European plains and estate managers without whom nothing will become reality in the future: farmers, foresters, hunters, fishermen, nature lovers and their partners in public institutions. May it also be a source of realistic inspiration for those who will have to take decisions in the future. SMALL WILDLIFE OF FIELDS AND MEADOWS IN EUROPE 3 Preface that solutions do exist. It is fairly well known what should be done. But the owners and farmers who manage these areas still need to get involved. Most of them are having a hard time and are concentrating on the profitability of their activity. Hunting - which they still do sometimes, but not always - does not generate income. They are therefore not necessarily Philippe DULAC motivated. President of the François The current reform of the CAP may provide an oppor- SOMMER Foundation tunity to overcome this problem. It would be a pity © Fondation SOMMER not to make use of it. Certainly, technical discussions will have to be held to define the content of the mea- sures to be adopted. But the general orientation of the reform, in a direction favourable to biodiversity, and consequently to hunting, must be imposed. This is in everyone’s best interest. The recovery of the «small wild fauna of the fields and meadows» is a major challenge for the restoration of biodiversity and for the sustainability of hunting. Biodiversity has become, as much as global warm- ing, one of the major concerns of our time. The sixth extinction of species is certainly not a new phenom- Pierre DUBREUIL, enon in the history of planet Earth, but its scale is General director of 'Office cause for concern. Too many species became extinct Français de la Biodiversité' or are threatened with extinction. The small fauna of (OFB) the fields and meadows is not escaping this phenom- enon, far from it. © Michel Monsay - OFB This decrease has been and is still experienced as a major concern by the hunting world. For people of my generation who started hunting after the war, the evolution observed over the last 50 years has been brutal. At that time, big game was rare and when hunting «in the woods», one had to be content with modest hunting bags. But hunting «on the plains» of- It is alarming to find out that biodiversity is collaps- fered a considerable number of hunters - in France ing from insect populations up to bird and small more than twice their current numbers - happy and mammal populations, all representatives of the small inexpensive hunting days. But the plain has been wildlife in France and elsewhere in Europe. This is largely depopulated. North of the Loire (France), the not disputed by anyone. The reasons for the decline grey partridge has practically disappeared during the of species that are often emblematic for our territo- last twenty years. The use of pesticides, resulting in ries (grey or red partridge, wheat quail, skylark) are the disappearance of a large part of the young birds’ numerous and well known: the change in agricultur- diet, has made reproduction very difficult. Farming al practices since the «Glorious Thirties» (land con- practices extending over long periods of the year solidation, hedge clearance, mechanisation), the use leave little shelter for the small fauna hunted by of phytosanitary products (for example, researchers predators. from public bodies have been able to demonstrate the impact of imidacloprid on grey partridges), not In recent years, studies have been carried out on forgetting the urban sprawl and the transformation methodologies to reverse this evolution. They show of agricultural land due to unlimited urbanisation SMALL WILDLIFE OF FIELDS AND MEADOWS IN EUROPE 4 (housing estates, motorways, gradual disappearance of wetlands, etc.). A major player in the biodiversity sphere is the pub- lic body formerly known as the National Hunting and Wildlife Office and today as the French Biodiversity Office. It has for many years been conducting studies with its partners, including the ‘Fondation Sommer’ Konstantin KOSTOPOULOS, and ELO, on how to halt the loss of biodiversity by General director of the promoting practices that are favourable to biodiver- Wildlife Estates Label (WE) sity and enable those who adopt them to reconcile a © ELO viable economic model with a thriving small plains fauna. The ‘Agrifaune’ programme, now deployed through- out France, is a very good example of this. By pro- moting grass strips, remembering the role of hedges and offering agricultural equipment (such as tractor equipment to keep animals away when mowing), this programme clearly indicates that alternatives exist. It is widely recognized that Nature is important for our society’s ability to cope with global change, Certification and communication are also important health threats and disasters. Protecting and restoring instruments and should be further developed. The biodiversity and well-functioning ecosystems is key present study, which is the result of long discussions to boost our resilience and prevent the emergence between the European Landowners Organization, the and spread of future diseases. Nature is also a vital Sommer Foundation and public bodies, demonstrates ally in the fight against climate change. this. The attribution of the Wildlife Estate label to es- tates where men and women, farmers, hunters, man- It is however also true that nature is in a state of agers and researchers can testify to the results ob- crisis. The five main direct drivers of biodiversity loss – changes in land and sea use, over exploitation, cli- tained after the use of good practices is an important mate change, pollution, and invasive alien species – leverage. are often quoted as responsible for the crisis. The EU has demonstrated its ambition to reverse bio- diversity loss building on the objective to ensure that by 2050 all of the world’s ecosystems are restored and protected. As a milestone, it aims to ensure that Europe’s biodiversity will be on the path to recovery by 2030, in line with the commitments set out in the European Green Deal. The EU had established legal frameworks, strategies and action plans to protect nature and restore habi- tats and species. However, up to now, these measures proved to be inadequate to reverse the negative trend in biodiversity loss. To put biodiversity on the path to recovery by 2030, the recommendations and commitments of the Green Deal relevant to nature restoration aim at improving and widening the net- work of protected areas and developing an ambitious EU Nature Restoration Plan. In addition, the revised Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) includes enhanced “green architecture” provisions that provide the means and the legal framework in support of nature and biodiversity restoration in combination with the Green Deal recommendations. The present study uses small wildlife of fields, “the best-known biodiversity component for people living SMALL WILDLIFE OF FIELDS AND MEADOWS IN EUROPE 5 and working in the countryside”, as a point of refer- (WE) project. The project has been already developed ence for an analysis of the above interlinked legal in 19 European countries by ELO over a number of frameworks, measures and strategies, as well as years, with a view to encourage and enhance private their relevance to landowners, farmers and hunters. landowners and land managers in their efforts to pro- It takes the reader through the causes for the loss tect biodiversity in their lands in using the most out- of biodiversity and the existing EU legal provisions standing tools and instruments. The project now cov- as well as the management and restoration of small ers about 420 estates, nearly 2 million hectares and wildlife population, the CAP and the tools for private is rapidly expanding.