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The Upper Thames Project – Farming for Biodiversity

Over the last 50 years, agricultural intensification has revolutionised the British countryside; thousands of miles of hedgerow have been removed, pesticide use has rocketed, and much of the landscape is dominated by monoculture. One of the most dramatic impacts has been depletion of wildlife bio-diversity on farmland. The Government has responded by revising its Agri-environment Schemes to change the balance of emphasis, encouraging environmental benefits alongside efficient food production. Our initiative seeks to restore mammals to the countryside by working with farmers to enhance the habitat available to mammals on farms, and by helping farmers to access financial support for this through Agri-environment Schemes. This project is unique. In drawing together existing knowledge and new information on mammals, as well as plants, birds and insects, it minimises duplication of effort, and maximises synergy between project partners.
Why is this project important?
Mammals have outstanding potential as conservation flagships. We aim to restore mammals to the Upper Thames Tributaries Environmentally Sensitive Area, and to demonstrate how they might function as indicators of environmental change. Bats and shrews are sensitive to declines in invertebrate prey, and so could prove useful indicators of pesticide abuse and climatic change, while water shrews are sensitive to water quality issues and therefore pollution. Conservation in Britain is dependent on farmland and farm practice. It is therefore vital to obtain the co-operation and support of farmers. Another important factor in landscape-scale conservation is ensuring connectivity of effort. This project will work closely with a network of farmers, recommending habitat enhancements that should benefit mammals and other wildlife on their land, and helping them secure financial support for the enhancements through Agri-environment Schemes. Current schemes facilitate large-scale explorations of alternative management regimes, providing us with an ideal opportunity to evaluate the benefits for mammals.

What are we doing?

We are taking a joined-up approach to habitat enhancement for the restoration of mammals. The Upper Thames Project (UTP) is a collaborative, inter-disciplinary, long-term project, consisting of a backbone that works with the farming community to implement conservation action, based on sound scientific underpinning, and supporting a synergistic network of rib projects. Project partners include scientists, conservationists, farming advisors and government agencies, working directly with the farming community. We are leaders in the development of this approach, having recently completed a similar (but smaller scale) project, involving 42 farms in 8,000 ha of the Chichester Coastal Plain in Sussex.



We aim to restore mammals, like the European Otter, to the British
countryside by taking a landscape approach
The resulting report and advisory pack for farmers was launched on 23rd October 2003 and is already hailed a model project by English Nature, the Environment Agency, FWAG and other agencies. Our new Upper Thames initiative builds on WildCRU’s record of large-scale, innovative, field experiments concerning field margins, organic farming and set-aside. We have accumulated a wealth of high quality data on farmland mammals in the UK, including water voles, otters, mink, wood mice, bank voles, shrews, hares, weasels, hedgehogs, foxes, badgers, rats, bats and moles. The project will commence with collation of existing data on mammals, plants, birds and invertebrates in the area, followed by a baseline survey of key species including water shrews, harvest mice, polecats and invasive American mink. We will engage farmers from the outset, recruiting them into the study and providing each with a Whole Farm Conservation Plan*. Appropriate habitat enhancement will take place (supported, where possible, by Agri-environment Scheme funding), and we will monitor the impact on mammal species. Finally, we will produce information on best practice for distribution to farmers. [*see separate profile: The Sustainable Farming Initiative: Whole Farm Conservation Plans].

How is this project making a difference?

Deliverables

The project is enhancing habitat in the Upper Thames area, providing measurable benefits and future security for a number of key bio-diversity species. Farmers are receiving free advice and guidance concerning habitat management and enhancement on their land, including a Whole Farm Conservation Plan. We also offer farmers assistance with grant searches to enable them to implement our advice. Ultimately we will produce a report and a pack of notes on best practice habitat management for mammals and other key wildlife, for distribution to farmers and other land managers.

Cascade effects

This initiative will result in improved advice and guidance notes for farming and wildlife advisers, e.g. FWAG, DEFRA, Wildlife Trusts, and other habitat managers. We will establish a demonstration area in the Upper Thames for people to visit, and the study will provide a model for similar work elsewhere.

How can you help?

This UTP consists of a number of inter-related studies. While it is likely that the scope will be extended to encompass other inter-related studies, the current total project cost over 5 years is £1.1m. Since it costs around £30K p.a. to mobilise one person, and we are dealing with dozens of species over 27,000 ha, this represents extremely good value. We have already raised £265K to fund a number of rib studies and a further £590K (including money for the backbone study) with potential sponsors. We have yet, however, to identify sponsors for the remaining £255K, principally for the provision of advice to farmers and to assist with the initial costs of implementing capital work on the ground.



6m-wide margins buffer ditches and watercourses from farm operations and are a haven for wildlife

YOU CAN HELP THIS PROJECT
Target to be raised
£255,000

You can find out about the budget for this project by contacting us. See our contact details.

If you are interested in finding out more about the science involved in this project, we would be happy to send you further information.

WildCRU is part of the University of Oxford, a tax- exempt charity. To maximise tax benefits to both donors and WildCRU, please see Donations.

Principal funders
Esmee Fairbairn Trust
Peoples' Trust for Endangered Species
Martin Wills Wildlife Maintenance Trust
Mammals Trust UK
The Tubney Trust

Partners
FWAG, BBOWT, Earthwatch, DEFRA, The Environment Agency, Natural England, Oxfordshire County Council