Ignore shocking decline of farm birds at our peril

It may or may not come as a surprise that some European bird populations are in precipitous decline, but what is more surprising and shocking is the emerging scale of the losses, and that they are occurring under our noses.

New information from the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme shows that widespread farmland birds are declining across Europe at an alarming rate. The downward trend in an index of population of 36 specialist farmland birds for the last 30 years equates to an estimated loss of 297 million farmland birds in Europe during that period – a 50 per cent decline since 1980. That is a lot of biodiversity in anyone's money.

Just one example is the eponymous skylark, whose song is so evocative of the countryside in summer. Its numbers have fallen by nearly half – we have lost 37 million of them. While the rate of decline has slowed in recent decades, the downward trend continues and there's little room for optimism.

This is particularly the case in Eastern Europe and in those countries that joined the European Union most recently. Their traditional farming systems host some of the richest wildlife communities in Europe but they are now under severe threat.

You might assume this was all a mystery to the scientists, but it is not – the causes of the decline are well known. We probably know more about European farmland birds than most other taxa on Earth. The research is extensive and compelling, and it shows the decline of farmland wildlife has been driven primarily by changes in farming: especially a move towards intensive and specialised methods; the loss of hedgerows and marginal natural habitats; changes in crop and cropping patterns; and the increased use of fertilizers and pesticides.

Many animals and plants have been similarly affected. The changes themselves have been driven in large part by Europe's infamous Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which was introduced in 1962 in a post-war climate still haunted by food shortages. No one would argue that food production and food security are not important – they are vital – but these new numbers suggest that the current balance is wrong.

You might question whether it matters that we have lost 297 million farmland birds if you're not a birdwatcher, but I'd argue that it does because it suggests a wider disregard for nature and its value. There is growing recognition that biodiversity loss can affect lives and economies directly and indirectly through the loss of a range of ecosystem services upon which we all depend. We ignore biodiversity loss at our peril.

Reversing this trend is simple: there must be a better balance between wildlife and food production and how both are valued. This isn't a choice between food and wildlife; we can have both, as plenty of farmers are demonstrating in the UK, particularly through agri-environment schemes.

However, European agricultural policy needs substantial reform so that it delivers measures to help birds and other wildlife right across the continent's farmed landscape and on a much greater scale. This means that funding for agri-environment schemes must increase significantly, and the quality and implementation of schemes must improve so they deliver wildlife's needs on the ground. For birds, this means nesting habitats and food in the summer and winter.

Policies must also support low-intensity farming systems that deliver a range of ecosystem benefits in addition to wonderful biodiversity. We know exactly what to do to start turning these devastating numbers around, but the political will is needed to make it happen. This isn't rocket science nor does it need a rocket science budget.

Quite simply, we are sleepwalking into disaster and it is time to wake up.

Profile: Richard D. Gregory is project manager of the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme and head of species monitoring and research in the department of conservation science at the UK's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.