The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) have presented the successful results of two projects in Brussels that could potentially help halt the biodiversity crisis.
BEESPOKE and PARTRIDGE were both led by the GWCT and were attended by farmers, scientists, conservationists, farm advisors, hunters, and policymakers.
The projects focused on the grey partridge and bees as their respective indicator species to show the impact of good advice, collaboration and innovation as tools to deliver more nature in the farmed environment.
Despite support and policy from the European Commission, the farmland bird index has decreased by 34% since 1990, with the grey partridge one of the worst affected, and a third of bee species are in decline.
The PARTRIDGE Project saw ten 500-hectare demonstration sites increase wildlife-friendly habitats by an average of 4.5% to an overall 11% since 2017. This is far more than the average 4% on Europe’s farmland.
The project concluded that if all arable farmland looked like its ten project sites, the farmland biodiversity crisis would not exist, and hence offers a blueprint for policymakers and practitioners to halt and reverse the decline.
The BEESPOKE project showcased a similar level of innovation, with different seed mix prescriptions for different crops. This link between supporting pollinators and increasing yields is hoped to encourage farmers to establish new wildflower areas.
At the conference, speakers were keen to showcase that our biodiversity crisis is not just bad news for the birds and the bees, but for mankind as well. Anne-Sophie Mulier, Policy & Project Officer of the European Landowners’ Organisation (ELO), said: “Biodiversity loss is a key threat for humanity.”
The projects have each shown that there is potential for us to turn around this crisis, but we need much more engagement and ambition. Laurent Govaert, a young farmer from Flanders who took part in both projects, said: “Farmers must be rewarded for their efforts and rules must be kept simple and clear, otherwise farmers won’t take part.”
The GWCT is an independent wildlife conservation charity which has carried out scientific research into Britain’s game and wildlife since the 1930s.
The conference, held on 30 May, showed that the two projects have been successful in providing solutions to help reverse biodiversity loss across the region and increase wild bee numbers to aid crop pollination. With the right support and policy, it is hoped that more projects like this can help tackle the biodiversity crisis.
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.