Project
What we do
Overview of our measures
The LIFE IP GrassBirdHabitats aims to improve the conservation status of grassland breeding birds along the East Atlantic Flyway. The project comprises various measures to increase reproduction rates in Germany and the Netherlands, and to improve the birds' return rates from their wintering grounds in West Africa.
Habitat optimisation
Breeding areas for meadow birds do not maintain themselves. On the one hand, modern agricultural land use leads to a decline of meadow bird populations. On the other hand, abandonment of land use also results in habitat loss, because open meadows and pastures become fallow land…
Transmitter birds
In 2018, we started satellite-tagging Black-tailed Godwits in the scope of the precursor project LIFE Meadow Birds. The goal was (and still is) to find the exact migratory routes that the birds use, and to use that information to determine which dangers they might face along the way…
Business model
In the Special Protection Area Dümmer, large proportions of the grassland areas are currently in an insufficient habitat condition and are in danger of no longer being suitable as breeding grounds for meadow birds. The necessary habitat improvements can hardly be funded, since neither hardship compensation nor agri-environment-climate measures (AECM) are granted for public land…
Strategic Conservation Plan
To counter the alarming decline of wet grassland breeding bird populations in the Atlantic region of Europe, conservation projects need to be guided by a global strategy that addresses conservation challenges along the entire East Atlantic Flyway…
Insect monitoring
Our mission is to explore the impact of land-use intensity and wetland restoration on insect populations, which are essential food sources for meadow bird chicks. We want to find out if the current insect population declines also occur in rewetted wet grasslands and, if so, how to avoid them…
Capacity building
Our project aims to establish a professional working team with experienced experts and young talents to fully implement the project goals and to share and spread specific knowledge on habitat optimisation for grassland breeding birds. The LIFE IP has personnel capacities and resources for starting initial measures and for developing and implementing concepts (see business model and Strategic Conservation Plan).
However, to achieve the project objectives (improve the conservation status of grassland breeding birds), much more comprehensive capacities need to be built. We need to create a sustainable network of like-minded responsible site managers, among other things. At the political level, the importance and impact of sustainable species conservation must be recognised and supported with appropriate regulations. On the technical level, the exchange with experiences from other regions is of great importance, so we can share existing knowledge and recent experiences in dealing with new challenges.
In this project, we put a strong emphasis on networking and expert visits to European and African areas to serve these purposes.
Additional funding
Raising water levels is the key factor for habitat optimisation in many areas. Water management that benefits meadow bird conservation can only be carried out permanently on public land. Thus, land acquisition is an essential requirement to achieve the project goals. Further funds must be raised for this purpose. We aim at purchasing 2.000 ha of land for meadow bird conservation in Lower Saxony.
In total, grassland habitats of 21,000 ha shall be optimised in Lower Saxony, including high water tables, low predation rates, open landscapes, and low-intensity farming. Additional funding is necessary to promote concentrated grassland bird conservation in the remaining bird sanctuaries. For this purpose, we primarily use European and federal funding sources.
The project team has successfully applied for another project in the scope of the European funding programme LIFE: LIFE Godwit Flyway. In addition, the European EAFRD and ERDF funds are used to get further funding to implement measures on public land. The State of Lower Saxony usually provides the co-financing for these projects.
Smaller measures with a shorter duration are financed by the state's own funding programmes. Here, we collaborate with the responsible nature conservation authorities.
Raise water level
Meadow birds need temporarily flat-flooded grassland areas during the breeding season.
Extensive farming
Only extensive grassland management creates the food conditions that are necessary for the birds.
Open landscape
Meadow birds need to have a broad overview of their surroundings, because they breed on the ground.
Land purchase
Some of our measures can only be secured in the long run when they are implemented on public land.