young curlew in grass
young curlew in grass

Cooperation and trust: Key ingredients for successful habitat management

In the UK and Europe there’s increasing concern about many breeding birds that have undergone sharp population declines. Sophie Stafford discusses the underlying issues behind the changes.

The plight of breeding birds in the UK and in Europe is a troubling one. The declines observed are due to multiple interacting factors, including habitat loss, agricultural intensification, climate change, and predation pressure.

Addressing the problem is complex and requires continuous research as well as effective habitat management tools and predator control strategies. 

But the secret to lasting conservation success isn’t just research and strategy; it’s the essential but difficult establishment of trust and cooperation among stakeholders. Researchers, regulators, policy makers, conservationists, land managers, farmers, and the shooting community each play a unique role in the conservation landscape. Meaningful and transparent collaboration among these groups is essential to tackle these significant conservation challenges.

Recent research has shed light on the importance of cooperation and trust in achieving effective conservation management and outcomes in the UK and Europe. Below, we explore some key findings on the need for habitat and predator management, the importance of landscape-scale approaches, and how building trust and cooperation can move conservation forward.

Predator control and habitat management

A recent study by McMahon et al. titled The decline of ground nesting birds in Europe: Do we need to manage predation in addition to habitat? highlights the complex factors behind ground-nesting bird decline across Europe, exploring how predation and habitat changes interact to affect these vulnerable species. They found that ground-nesting birds are 86 per cent more likely to decline than species with other nesting strategies, such as tree or burrow nesters.

This is largely because these birds are highly vulnerable to disturbances, whether from agricultural practices, human presence, or predation by generalist predators such as foxes, crows, magpies, American mink and badgers. Such species thrive in diverse landscapes and can readily prey on these birds. This can be a particular issue, hindering recovery, where ground-nesting bird densities are already low.

The study also found that birds breeding in agricultural areas are especially vulnerable, with high avian predator densities in intensively farmed areas compounding the risk. Managing predator populations, through carefully regulated means, can therefore be an important tool for protecting ground-nesting birds.

However, predator control remains a sensitive issue. Animal welfare concerns and questions about broader ecological impacts and the levels of regulation necessary often create friction between stakeholders. This is where trust and cooperation between stakeholders with varying expertise and opinions becomes critical.

Effective conservation requires shared understanding, balanced perspectives, and mutual trust among all stakeholders involved in developing and carrying out conservation goals.

Agricultural practices can be a cause of disturbance for ground-nesting birds

Shifting towards landscape-scale conservation

England’s conservation landscape is also evolving with new Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs), that aim to deliver broader benefits for biodiversity and habitat restoration by shifting the focus towards coordinated, landscape-scale conservation efforts.

However, the first challenge lies in uniting a diverse group of stakeholders—researchers, regulators, policy makers, farmers, landholders, conservationists, and members of the shooting community. All of these bring unique values, needs, and perspectives.

A recent study titled Opportunities for achieving landscape scale conservation in England used Q-methodology (a method used to research subjective opinions, values or beliefs) to categorise five distinct collaborator-types among landholders. These ranges from “Traditional Farmers” and “Social Farmers” to “Modern Collaborators” and “Pragmatic Collaborators.”

What’s interesting is that while each group has its own focus or priority, all recognise the importance of building trust and open communication with conservation organisations. This shared value highlights the potential for more cooperative approaches to conservation projects in future, if policies and initiatives can align the interests of stakeholders with diverse backgrounds and opinions.

Building trust

A consistent finding across these studies is the importance of trust and mutual understanding between stakeholders in achieving long-term conservation goals. This instils a greater willingness to collaborate, share resources, and adopt practices that benefit both the landscape and its wildlife.

The decline of ground-nesting birds across Europe requires a blend of habitat management, sustainable predator control, and most importantly, a collaborative approach. By fostering trusting working relationships between stakeholders, it will be possible to create an environment where diverse landholders feel empowered to work together.

This collaborative approach not only strengthens conservation efforts but also aligns with broader goals of sustainable land use and biodiversity protection across the English landscape. Embracing a shared approach based on trust, cooperation, and commitment to healthy ecosystems is essential to the future of conservation in the UK.

The future of conservation projects

Some key elements the researchers identified to improve stakeholder collaborations include:

  1. Providing tailored support and resources to stakeholders from different backgrounds to help landholders feel less disconnected from government conservation initiatives and help expand understanding of conservation techniques, including responsible predator management.
  2. Provide coordinated, integrated advice from various specialist experts to ensure a unified approach. A coordinated network of advisors within projects could help landholders and other stakeholders see how their individual efforts such as predator control or habitat management, contribute to larger biodiversity goals.
  3. Facilitate knowledge exchange, demonstrating the impact of the conservation work achieved and motivating landholders’ investment in long-term projects. Positive outcomes, whether in bird populations or habitat restoration, build trust in the conservation process and strengthen relationships among stakeholders.
  4. Recognise and respect diverse perspectives and priorities such as agricultural productivity, environmental or social outcomes. Policies that recognise and respect these varied motivations and offer flexibility in approaches are more likely to encourage cooperation and support.

Want to read the latest research of interest to shooting, conservation and sustainable land management? Find it here.

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