Speak up for Europe's biodiversity!

The Lapwing is disappearing from Ireland’s and Europe’s farmland. The intensification of agriculture has dramatically reduced this unique bird’s habitat and food sources. In the coming months, the European Parliament will make far-reaching decisions about the future of the multi-billion euro Common Agriculture Policy subsidies. Lapwings and other threatened animals don’t have a vote or a voice in the Parliament. Please send a message to your MEPs. All you need is a smartphone, tablet or desktop computer to be a voice for nature.

The population of Lapwings is in freefall in Ireland. Sadly, the most recent Bird Atlas reported a 53% decrease in its breeding range in Ireland in the last 40 years. The main driver is the intensification of farming which is eradicating wet meadows and extensively used grasslands. As a result, lapwings (which are also called green plovers), can’t find enough food and living space anymore.

Now is the time for action if we want to save Lapwings, European hare, bumblebees and other farmland wildlife. Give them your voice by sending a message to your representatives in the European Parliament. The EU needs to take action and change direction and to support farmers to farm for nature.

Due to the Corona crisis, votes on the EU’s future Common Agricultural Policy have been pushed to autumn. However, important decisions are already taking place before the summer, so we need to speak up now.

Our Three Demands

Space for Nature: We need more space for lapwing and other wildlife in the agricultural landscape – at minimum 10 percent of the acreage on each farm should to be set aside for biodiversity.

Money for Nature: We need to reward European farmers for protecting nature – with 15 billion euro per year.

Transition for Nature: We need subsidies that transform farming in Europe, not cement the destructive status quo – with a phased exit from direct subsidies purely based by acreage.

To learn more about our demands, click here.

Take action now!

Five tips for your voice message

It's easy to participate. Just fill out the form and in the next step click on the microphone symbol to record your message. When you are done, just hit 'stop.' If you like, you can listen to your message before sending it off.

Just state your first name and where you live (city/town or county); no other personal information is necessary.

Briefly mention what your message is about - the reform of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy.

Explain, why the protection of nature and biodiversity is important to you.

Mention one of the three main BirdLife demands (above) - in your own words.

Keep it short, so that your MEP and their staff can listen to your message in its entirety (the limit is two minutes).

I'm ready to start!

Need some inspiration?

If you are not sure how to start, below is a sample message. FYI - to prevent your voice message from ending up in the European Parliament's spam filter, we will make it available to your MEP through the platform SoundCloud.

"Hello, my name is Steve from Galway. As my Member of the European Parliament, I want you to take action for a reform of the EU's agricultural policy. For years I observe less and less birds and insects in the farmland around my town. There are noticeably fewer lapwings, mainly due to intensive farming practices. I ask you to make a minimum of 10 per cent non-productive areas mandatory on each farm to save our biodiversity. Thank you!"

I got it. Let's start!

Red alert for Europe's biodiversity

Too many pesticides and fertilizers, cleared out fields and monotonous greenlands - Europe's biodiversity suffers from intensive farming. The main driver behind this is the wrong-headed Common Agricultural Policy with its massive subsidies. There's nothing the EU spends more money on than farming subsidies - around 60 billion Euros every year. The lion's share of this money is doled out purely based on acreage. This incentives farmers for clearing more and more land and creating larger and larger plot sizes. With the eradication of trees, hedges and fallow plots, many species lose their habitats and food sources. This is aggravated by the use of pesticides that eliminate much-needed wild plants and insects. As a result, farmland birds, insects and even mammals are in serious decline - and Ireland is no exception. We need need a new EU agricultural policy to stop this dangerous trend.

More about the need for Space for Nature

We demand more space and money for nature

While too many politicians still argue about the loss of biodiversity in the agricultural landscape, scientists have clearly identified the link between intensive farming and the decline in birds, insects and small mammals. Studies show that relatively simple steps would suffice to save Europe's biodiversity: We need more fallow land, extensively used greenland and other non-productive areas to give animals and plants the necessary room to thrive. This has to go hand in hand with a restructuring of the 60 billion Euros in annual farming subsidies. In short, nature protection measures need to be paid sufficiently to make them attractive to farmers. Furthermore we need a concrete exit plan to transition away from direct payments based on acreage and instead pay farmers based on what they do with their land. Together with our BirdLife Europe partners we demand: Space for Nature, Money for Nature und Transition for Nature.

More about the BirdLife demands