Bird conservation works, new study

This video says about itself:

Nature is under attack – #itsmynature

11 May 2015

Europe’s land, forest, water and marine resources are at risk.

Vital laws that protect our most precious nature could be weakened if we don’t raise our voice.

Tell your politicians that you want nature to be defended here.

#NatureAlert #itsmynature

It’s a tale of two miracles. The first: over 100 NGOs, in 28 European capitals, are launching a campaign today to stop Juncker’s attack against the laws that protect Nature. The second? By re-reading the Directives we’ve rediscovered an idea of Europe we can love: one of a community that protects its nature: here.

From Conservation Letters:

Assessing the performance of EU nature legislation in protecting target bird species in an era of climate change

Abstract

International legislation forms a cornerstone of conservation, yet its efficacy is rarely quantified. We assess whether species listed on Annex I of the European Union (EU) Birds Directive, for which EU Member States are obliged to implement special conservation measures, differ systematically in their short-term (2001-2012) or long-term (1980-2012) population trends from those of non-Annex I species.

In both periods, Annex I species had more positive trends than non-Annex I species, particularly in countries that joined the EU earlier. There were additional signatures of climate change and life history strategy in the trends of species in one or both periods. Within Annex I species, long-distance migrants fared significantly worse than other species, suggesting that enhanced protection on the breeding grounds alone may be insufficient for these species. We conclude that the EU’s conservation legislation has had a demonstrably positive impact on target species, even during a period in which climate change has significantly affected populations.

Citizens speak up: Don’t mess with the Nature Directives, implement them: here.