Meadow birds have a cultural significance in the Netherlands and play a key role in the Dutch ecosystems. Nevertheless, with the rapid decline in meadow bird populations, the need for more effective conservation efforts is crucial. After analysing a Horizon Scanning Survey (HS) to describe the status of meadow bird conservation in Germany in 2022, a similar study was carried out in 2023 in the Netherlands. The goal was to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for meadow bird conservation in the Netherlands. Respondent profiles varied from bird conservationists to land managers, researchers, and farmers.
Noë van Alphen, Kira Gloxin and Wessel Brink – a group of students from the University of Groningen, part of the Living Lab programme –, researchers at the University of Groningen, and the NLWKN worked together to analyse the data collected in this HS. The responses of the participants were grouped into themes by order of importance. In the analysis, strengths (Figure 1), weaknesses (Figure 2), opportunities (Figure 3), and threats (Figure 4) for meadow bird conservation were identified. For each category, the themes and subthemes that were raised by respondents in the HS survey are visually illustrated. Each theme has a color and the bubble size represents the importance of the (sub)themes. These results reflect the complex and nuanced field of meadow bird conservation. The most important themes (identified by the number of occurrences) were: agricultural intensification, subsidy management, predation pressure, political decision-making, and societal engagement.
The full report below gives a detailed insight into the current status of meadow bird conservation in the Netherlands. Further, the report provides an overview of the existing challenges and future opportunities and threats, so conservation practitioners and policymakers can make more accurate, tailored, and efficient conservation approaches for a better future for meadow bird conservation in the Netherlands.
To find out more, see the full report below.