National Parks & Wildlife Service Curlew Conservation Programme Pilot Curlew Cooperation Scheme The Eurasian Curlew is protected under Irish and EU law. It is Ireland’s only Red Listed bird species on the IUCN list of threatened species. A national survey commissioned by NPWS in 2015 and 2016 found drastic declines of the national breeding population of Curlews. Whereas 5000 pairs are estimated to have bred in the late 1980s, there now remains no more than 150 pairs. This represents a 97% decline. Breeding productivity is so low that population viability analysis predicts that in the absence of any action, the Curlew will go extinct as a breeding species in Ireland within 5-10 years. A Curlew Task Force has been established with all major stakeholders represented, with a view to progressing action for Curlew conservation. One of the key constraints for breeding Curlew is the difficulties they are experiencing in hatching eggs and rearing young. Predation, especially by Fox, is believed to be a main cause of breeding failure. Another constraint is habitat quality. With the cooperation of landowners (via this scheme), the Curlew Conservation Project will find Curlew nests and target effective action by means of nest protection, predator control and small-scale habitat enhancement through capital works. The scheme is carefully designed to any potential of double-funding, for example by GLAS. The input of any farmers on this scheme is entirely separate and there are no hectare” payments or “per actions similar to those available under other agri-environmental schemes. Farmers with Curlew on their land are paid for transaction costs (at the standard agricultural rate of and their time involved in the following actions, as advised, supervised, sanctioned and €12.40/h) certified by the Curlew Advisory Officer operating in their region: Measure Potential Time Maximum Payment Landowners Landowners Input (April-July targeted for nest targeted for c. 16wks) protection capital works Liaison with Curlew 15h €173.60 Advisory Officer Liaison with Curlew 15h €173.60 Predator Control Operative Inspecting 16h €198.40 Fences/Batteries Liaison with local 5h €62.00 Curlew Champion Liaison with Curlew 4.5h €55.80 Researcher Liaison with NPWS 4h €49.60 Agri-Ecology Unit/Personal Accountant) Labour* 24h €297.60 Project Feedback 3h €37.20
National Parks & Wildlife Service Curlew Conservation Programme Pilot Curlew Cooperation Scheme The Eurasian Curlew is protected under Irish and EU law. It is Ireland’s only Red Listed bird species on the IUCN list of threatened species. A national survey commissioned by NPWS in 2015 and 2016 found drastic declines of the national breeding population of Curlews. Whereas 5000 pairs are estimated to have bred in the late 1980s, there now remains no more than 150 pairs. This represents a 97% decline. Breeding productivity is so low that population viability analysis predicts that in the absence of any action, the Curlew will go extinct as a breeding species in Ireland within 5-10 years. A Curlew Task Force has been established with all major stakeholders represented, with a view to progressing action for Curlew conservation. One of the key constraints for breeding Curlew is the difficulties they are experiencing in hatching eggs and rearing young. Predation, especially by Fox, is believed to be a main cause of breeding failure. Another constraint is habitat quality. With the cooperation of landowners (via this scheme), the Curlew Conservation Project will find Curlew nests and target effective action by means of nest protection, predator control and small-scale habitat enhancement through capital works. The scheme is carefully designed to any potential of double-funding, for example by GLAS. The input of any farmers on this scheme is entirely separate and there are no “per hectare” payments or actions similar to those available under other agri-environmental schemes. Farmers with Curlew on their land are paid for transaction costs (at the standard agricultural rate of €12.40/h) and their time involved in the following actions, as advised, supervised, sanctioned and certified by the Curlew Advisory Officer operating in their region: Measure Potential Time Input (April-July c. 16wks) Maximum Payment Landowners targeted for nest protection Landowners targeted for capital works Liaison with Curlew Advisory Officer 15h €173.60 Liaison with Curlew Predator Control Operative 15h €173.60 Inspecting Fences/Batteries 16h €198.40 Liaison with local Curlew Champion 5h €62.00 Liaison with Curlew Researcher 4.5h €55.80 Liaison with NPWS Agri-Ecology Unit/Personal Accountant) 4h €49.60 Labour* 24h €297.60 Project Feedback 3h €37.20
Curlew_Cooperation_Scheme_NPWS_Website_15Mar2017.docx