Brexit implications for wildlife friendly farming: long-term opportunity, short-term jeopardy

In the white noise of the past couple of weeks you may have missed the publication of the latest Breeding Bird Survey results which showed turtle dove numbers have hit a new low, declining by 93% since 1994. This trend is mirrored across Europe, with a decline of 78% between 1980 and 2013.

As many of you will know, this is a species that is facing threats on migration and on its wintering grounds, but it has, like many other birds, also been affected by agricultural changes on its breeding grounds.  This is why through Operation Turtle Dove the RSPB and its partners are carrying out a range of targeted actions including promoting turtle dove friendly land management to farmers through agri-environment schemes (paid for through the EU Common Agriculture Policy).

From the recovery of species, to the creation of habitats, planting of trees, maintenance of iconic landscapes and action to mitigate flood risk and address water quality, these agri-environment schemes have been pivotal to terrestrial conservation efforts and broader environmental land management. They have engaged farmers in more sustainable models of production, demonstrated the potential for more effective approaches to farm support and provided value for money to taxpayers across the UK.

And yet, all of this has been called into question by Brexit.

Andy Hay's image of Hope Farm research trial (rspb-images.com)

As I wrote in my open letter to the new Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsom MP, on Friday, the uncertainty associated with Brexit means that these agri-environment schemes are now on hold as Defra and the Treasury figure out whether they want to carry 100% of the costs for these 5 to 10 years agreements once we leave the EU.   

This demands urgent attention from the new Defra Ministerial team, which as of yesterday includes Therese Coffey MP, who replaces Rory Stewart MP as Biodiversity Minister.  I am confident that the new Minister will grasp the seriousness of the issue given that she is species champion for the bittern and so no stranger to species conservation priorities.

Without incentives to encourage wildlife-friendly farming, governments across the UK will not just fail to meet their environmental commitments – such as those driven by the Convention on Biological Diversity or the country biodiversity strategies – they will go backwards. Farms will fall out of agreement, habitats will no longer be managed, and species conservation efforts will be fatally undermined. For species like the turtle dove that’s teetering on the edge of extinction, this could sign its death warrant as a breeding bird in the UK.

In England alone, between now and 2019/2020, over 4600 Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreements will expire. If the new scheme is effectively discontinued now, that’s over 4600 farmers who have invested their time and effort let down, and millions of pounds of taxpayer’s money wasted. It would undermine the confidence of the farming community in the concept of environmental land management, and scupper any chances of taking the opportunities that a post-Brexit agriculture policy could offer.

As a quick example, our farm – Hope Farm - in Cambridgeshire is in an Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) agreement that expires in September 2017, slap bang in the middle of a potential Brexit no man’s land. Without Defra continuing with the new scheme in England, Countryside Stewardship, the management that has led to a 200% increase in breeding birds on the farm would be left unsupported. We’ll of course carry it on, but for many farmers in a similar position, to do so would not be economically viable.

While I do see real opportunity for reforming agriculture policy once we have left the EU, there is real jeopardy now. 

Thousands of farmers have completed or requested application packs this year. If we are not to derail all of the potential good work these applications represent, we need firm statements from governments across the UK that they are committed to these schemes for the foreseeable future. We don’t have time to lose if the Government is to meet its manifesto commitment of restoring UK biodiversity within 25 years.