In the run up to the Scottish Elections in May we will be talking to you about the transformative changes that politicians in Scotland must make to recover Scotland’s amazing nature and how you can help. Today, on World Curlew Day, RSPB Scotland's Chris Bailey looks at actions that would benefit and protect some of Scotland’s extraordinary wildlife.
Restoring nature through wildlife and climate-friendly farming
Every year RSPB Scotland staff assist hundreds of farmers, crofters and land managers across the country providing advice and support on a range of issues. With much of our work focusing on high priority species including curlew, lapwing, corncrake, black grouse and capercaillie today, World Curlew Day, provides the perfect backdrop to highlight just how vital it is that Scottish Government develops transformational policies that help curlews and at the same time address the wider nature and climate emergency.
It is vital that the Scottish Government post elections in May develop new rural development policies that transform Scottish agricultural by 2027 facilitating and rewarding nature- and climate-friendly farming. This is one of 11 transformative actions for nature that make up our Nature Recovery Plan, a joint Plan with WWF Scotland and the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
Ask #10: Support nature- and climate-friendly farming
With a lot of Scotland’s land used for farming, for nature to thrive it is essential that agricultural policy and payment systems support nature- and climate-friendly farming. To do this we believe government needs to:
1. Develop and publish detailed proposals for a new system of rural support payments to farmers, croftersand other land managers for the delivery of public goods, by the end of 2020.
2. By summer 2021, finalise proposals for a new support system, outline a roadmap to transition farmers from the current system to this new system by 2027 at the latest and establish pilot schemes to trial and test this new system between 2021 and 2024.
3. Bring forward agriculture legislation, establishing the purpose and legal basis for new rural support payments, no later than 2024, in order to affect changes over the transition period.
Without this transformational change there is a risk that declines in curlew numbers will not be halted and nature friendly farmers will go unrewarded.
Scotland holds a significant proportion of the UK population of curlews, redshanks, lapwings, oystercatchers and snipe. Whilst still relatively common in Scotland, compared to other countries in the United Kingdom, the numbers have declined significantly over the last few decades. In Scotland, the Breeding Bird Survey highlighted that between 1995 and 2018, curlews declined by 59%, lapwings by 56% and oystercatchers by 37%. Snipe fortunately have bucked the trend increasing by 22%. These trends are of great concern to the Scottish Government, environmental organisations, landowners and land managers alike with agreement that there is a need to take action to reverse these declines alongside helping other wildlife.
RSPB Scotland proactively supports initiatives at both national and local level aimed at reversing these declines, many of them working in partnership. At the national level, we are a partner in the Working For Waders Initiative (WfW). This initiative, started in 2017, aims to tackle the decline of wading birds across Scotland. The project is open to anyone with an interest in waders and is currently supported by a wide range of organisations and individuals, from farmers and conservationists to gamekeepers and birdwatchers. Partner organisations include Scottish Natural Heritage, British Trust for Ornithology, Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, Scottish Rural College, Scottish Land and Estates, Scottish Moorland Group, James Hutton Institute, The Heather Trust and Scottish Association for Field Sports. WfW aims to do three things supported by funding from NatureScot; firstly raise awareness of wader declines; secondly show that declines can be reversed and thirdly demonstrating the importance of working in partnership. Partners have worked together to deliver a series of priority actions identified as priorities by the group. More information on the actions can be found here.
At a more local level RSPB Scotland supports wader projects in Caithness, Clyde Valley, NE Scotland (Grampian), Orkney, Shetland, and Strathspey. To give a couple of examples of the type of work we are undertaking. In Clyde Valley £90k funding from NatureScot’s Biodiversity Challenge Fund (BCF) allowed us to work with SAC Consulting and 17 land managers over this winter to cut 200ha of dense thatched vegetation, create 40 wader scrapes, and undertake various trials all aimed at improving the nesting and foraging habitat for breeding wading birds including curlew. This spring we’ll be monitoring wader nests with camera traps and temperature loggers to continue our investigation into how these birds are faring in these landscapes. In Strathspey our work supports the EU Life Curlews in Crisis project as well as Strathspey Wetlands & Wader Initiative. The project is guided by a comprehensive survey which takes place every five years and records wader breeding behaviours across the whole landscape with currently 100 farms and 110 volunteers involved. The first survey took place in 2000 and the most recent in 2015. Volunteers have just started the next survey which we had to delay by a year because of Covid-19. These surveys are invaluable in helping RSPB Scotland and partners target agri-environment management with more than 50 agri- applications, covering 24 square kilometres successfully submitted as part of the project. These plans include options focused on the wetlands, mown and grazed grasslands, species-rich grasslands and cropped fields. We know that curlew and other species respond to sensitive management and agri-environment schemes are very effective if deployed properly.
Our work in Strathspey and elsewhere demonstrates the importance to curlew of the existing government schemes which were previously delivered with the support of European funding. Other government policies such as tree planting also have the potential to have big impacts on the curlew population if trees are not planted in the right places.
Scotland’s wildlife that relies on farmed landscapes needs decision-makers to transform agricultural policy and payments. Those elected for the Scottish Parliament on 6 May have the opportunity to do that.
Why not check which candidates and parties have made these commitments and let yours know that nature is important to you by calling on them to champion nature? You can record how they measure up against all #11Actions using our Election Scorecard and find out more about the Nature Recovery Plan at rspb.org.uk/reviveourworldscotland.