Reflections on the synergies and conflicts between Biodiversity and Agriculture in the #12 Roundtable of BAE x YEE

What is the national bird of the Netherlands? What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of meadow birds? 

Those were the questions that were asked by Ashton Melfor, scientific advisor of Youth and Environment Europe, to introduce us to the topic of our 12th Umbrella Roundtable: Meadow Birds in Agricultural Lands from a Dutch Perspective.  

The presentation began by explaining what meadow birds are, highlighting their long and narrow beaks adapted for feeding on earthworms in grassland ecosystems. Examples of Dutch meadow birds such as the black-tailed godwit, northern lapwing, and Eurasian oystercatcher were mentioned (see picture 1). These birds are crucial for ecosystem balance, by controlling insect populations, distributing plant seeds, while they also serve as indicators for habitat quality. They are migratory species, spending their winter in Africa, and returning to the Netherlands for breeding (!fun fact: the black-tailed godwit is known to have the longest continuous migration to any migratory bird, going from Alaska all the way to New Zealand in one go! - very impressive, right?!). 

Picture 1: Diffrent kinds of Dutch meadow birds.

Another less-fun and more reality-checking fact is that meadow birds are grassland species and their life cycle is intrinsically linked to the characteristics of grasslands ecosystems - for example, their baby chicks. Chicks need a mosaic landscape of short and tall vegetation within the grassland to hide from predators while foraging for insects . As farmlands replace grasslands due to agricultural intensification in Europe, meadow birds' survival and thriving are threatened, leading to their decline.  This is because agricultural intensification leads, among others, to:

•  lower groundwater levels and drainage of wet meadows, reducing insect populations and making soil harder,  to uniform grasslands and loss of herb-rich vegetation

• changes in mowing practices (early and frequent mowing destroying nests and chicks)

• increased fertilization leading to uniform vegetation and reduced plant and invertebrate diversity

• high nitrogen input, further reducing species diversity

• increased predation risk due to tree lines providing perches for avian predators.

There are two main approaches to managing the decline: agri-environmental schemes and conservation areas. Agri-environmental schemes are diverse and aim to safeguard nests and chicks (e.g., nest protection, delayed mowing) or enhance foraging opportunities (e.g. herb-rich meadows). Ashton implored us to put ourselves in the shoes of farmers and decide whether we would implement an agri-environmental scheme. From our responses,  it was made clear that even if there are best practices available, the benefits that the farmers get from them is an important issue, because these practices will affect production. We were also motivated to reflect on utilitarian and intrinsic values of nature, and the contradiction that might exist  between how farmers and youth activists view nature. These values influence the decisions farmers, activists, and policy makers take when it comes to nature conservation in agricultural lands.

Moving forward, Ashton suggested a need to expand the coverage of effective agri-environmental schemes and adopt a landscape-scale approach to conservation areas with designated core management areas. It is also important to re-evaluate financial support for farmers and consider payment for ecosystem services, while also shifting from intensive to more extensive and biodiversity-friendly agricultural practices. A hands-on measure that can be applied at the moment is following the calendar by Life Netherlands with actions farmers can take throughout the year to conserve meadow birds (see picture 2).

Picture 2: A calendar by Life Netherlands with actions farmers can take throughout the year to conserve meadow birds.

The discussion that followed, with the fruitful participation of YEE and other BAE umbrella members,focused on different issues that were mentioned during the presentation. In general, the importance of youth organisations and activists to consider both ecological and social perspectives was underlined. We must engage in dialogue with all stakeholders, especially farmers, when it comes to issues that connect biodiversity and agriculture. We further reflected on the utilitarian vs. intrinsic values of nature - understanding different perspectives is key and dialogue helps find common ground, acknowledging the broader societal question of values. Various participants offered their views on ecosystem services, how they can be perceived as reinforcing utilitarian values of nature, and how they can  indirectly undermine ecosystem health if farmers focus on specific service-promoting features while neglecting other important factors. We also discussed the financial support, awareness-raising and capacity building that is necessary for farmers to transition to more sustainable practices. Finally, some challenges and tips for young scientists in promoting biodiversity with agriculture stakeholders were mentioned:

• be aware of their own biases and values

• strive for independence in their scientific arguments to maintain credibility

• do not underestimate the importance of citizen science 

• Ensure that farmers are knowledgeable of best practices

Finally, for any of our Umbrella Members that may be interested or working on something similar, Youth and Environment Europe has a new "agri-food systems" portfolio, which is actively working on statements and planning workshops related to agriculture and nature.