At the beginning of 2024, the French Ministry of Ecological Transition jointly commissioned Tour du Valat and Office Français de la Biodiversité to draw up a ten-year National Management Plan (NMP) for five species of waders breeding in France in grasslands and other herbaceous environments, such as pastures, moors, peat bogs and salt marshes. The species targeted are the lapwing, curlew, black-tailed godwit, redshank and common snipe.
These species, whose populations are in marked and continuous decline, are under threat to varying degrees and have been deemed a priority by the European Union and the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) for the implementation of conservation measures. Four of them have already been the subject of European or international AEWA management plans, some of which have already benefited from the expertise of Tour du Valat in the 2000s.
The National Management Plan (NMP) for grassland shorebirds is expected by July 2025. It will be based on the results and achievements of previous national plans, as well as on scientific literature and recent expert reports. Given that the threats to these shorebirds are largely linked to the intensification of the European agricultural model, particular attention will be paid to the opportunities that the future Common Agricultural Policy could offer in terms of eco-regimes [1], agri-environmental and climate measures, the maintenance of permanent pastures and the protection of sensitive grasslands.
The aim is to produce a document that is both operational and strategic to support public policies in favour of shorebirds. The drafting of the NGP is based in particular on the Open Standards for Conservation Practice [2], which Tour du Valat has helped to make known in France. This approach is based on the construction of contextual models and chains of expected results. It makes it possible to analyse in detail the direct and indirect threats, the key points for intervention, and the opportunities, to define appropriate strategies, and then to build a programme of concrete actions.
A steering committee composed of around forty stakeholder representatives (scientists, managers, naturalist and hunting NGOs, the farming profession, public bodies and government representatives) is involved in drafting the plan through participatory workshops. This committee met for the first time in La Rochelle last May to define the action strategies and will meet again in December to continue this work.
[1] Direct payment to farmers in mainland France who voluntarily commit to implementing climate- and environment-friendly agronomic practices throughout their farms.
Contact
Jean-Baptiste Mouronval, project manager coordinating the drafting of the National Shorebird Management Plan at Tour du Valat
Tél : +33 (0) 4 90 97 06 74