Can the decline of bird populations be halted?

► “We still lack ambition”

Vincent DevictorCNRS researcher, co-author of the study on the decline of bird populations in Europe

For thirty-seven years, we have carried out an unprecedented study on the decline of bird populations in Europe, following the evolution of 170 species in 28 countries. The number of birds has declined by 25%, or 800 million fewer, 20 million fewer per year. Huge numbers! While we might have expected a slowing down of this decline twenty years ago if we had initiated a change, it is quite the opposite that has been observed.

This study has another specificity. We have quantified the importance of human activity in this decline. A first. It appears that the intensification of agricultural practices is the dominant factor. The reason: the use of pesticides and fertilizers which reduce the abundance of insects, poison seed-eating birds and pollute ground and surface water. Over the period, 57% of birds living in agricultural environments have disappeared. The ortolan sparrow has even declined by 93%!

But agricultural birds are not the only ones affected. Some insect-feeding forest species such as the gray flycatcher have seen their population decline. This systemic problem concerns all territories.

We have often been criticized for an “ideological vision”. It’s wrong. Our work is based on transparent data: however much we do and redo the calculations, the observation does not change. Some species have even disappeared in France, such as the rose-breasted shrike. When a population decline exceeds 90%, the species is considered ‘threatened with extinction’.

And the trend is not likely to reverse, because agriculture is not going in the right direction. Many aids continue to be paid according to production per hectare to obtain high yields at low cost. Farmers find themselves locked into a deleterious industrial production model, which does not allow the maintenance of wildlife and leads to public health problems. Because it should not be forgotten: the first exposed are the farmers themselves.

We must help the agricultural sector in a more intelligent and ambitious way to enable it to become compatible with the maintenance of life in the agricultural ecosystem. For example with intercropping (association of several species or varieties grown on the same surface, editor’s note) or organic farming or agroforestry. But we still lack ambition. Currently, only 8% of European territory is dedicated to organic.

This decline is not inevitable. For several years, we have seen that the solutions put in place work for several species and habitats. There is even good news. Some waterbirds that have benefited from Natura 2000 protection status have seen their populations increase, such as the gray heron. You don’t have to be fatalistic. It would be terrible to watch helplessly and indifferently as bird populations decline year after year.

► “To preserve biodiversity, we need collective awareness”

Pascal FereyPresident of the Manche Chamber of Agriculture, in charge of biodiversity at the Office of the Chambers of Agriculture of France

The observation of the decline of birds is relentless. I am not surprised by the CNRS study, for having produced a report on biodiversity in 2020 with the president of the League for the Protection of Birds, Allain Bougrain Dubourg for the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (Cese).

But if agriculture has its share of responsibility, it is above all collective. It is yet another report that pushes open doors and falls into the easy way. It would have deserved to be supplemented by a fairly precise analysis of what should be done.

The scientific study targets intensive agriculture. Agriculture can indeed be criticized for its lack of diversity. Our great cereal plains have become monotonous. Birds therefore have fewer insects.

But do we ask why the large regions are no longer polycultured? Why have livestock and grasslands disappeared there? This is because incomes have never been up to par, and farmers have chosen to switch their meadows to crops that are more profitable and demanding than livestock farming.

Polyculture-breeding, which favored biodiversity, is endangered in France. So there are fewer trees, groves and hedgerows for the birds. It is also the result of political decisions. A societal choice. Large retailers are driving prices down. Organic farming, in which a lot has been invested, is in difficulty.

And as long as the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) does not initiate a real rebalancing of its aid in favor of medium-sized and numerous farms, farmers will be forced to expand in order to earn a decent income.

The agricultural profession is making an effort. It has undertaken a significant limitation of phytosanitary products, and in particular insecticides, with crop rotation or changes in agronomic practices. Consumption of these products has fallen by 20% in 2022.

She is also in the process of restoring her hedges and groves. We are accused of having caused the disappearance of a million kilometers of hedges in fifty years. But have local authorities and the State done anything to avoid it by developing a million kilometers of roads? It is human, urban, industrial, and not just agricultural, activities that promote the disappearance of birds. Light pollution is also a real source of nuisance for bird food.

The subject of the disappearance of birds is much more complex. It requires collective awareness. If we want to preserve our biodiversity and avoid the catastrophe of a disappearance of birds, it is at all levels in all territories, with all the actors.

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