 Ed Parnell
Numbers of White Storks are still high in the new European accession countries
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What's in store for wildlife in the new EU?
01-05-2004
Expansion of the European Union could pose serious problems for birds in the ten accession countries joining the EU today. Whilst enlargement celebrations ring out across the continent, BirdLife International warns that wildlife and rural landscapes in the new Member States face a serious threat from EU agricultural policy.
The new Members will bring valuable natural heritage into the EU: flower-rich meadows, diverse farmland habitats and a wealth of fauna and flora. However, this natural heritage could soon lose out to wildlife-unfriendly farming. Intensive agriculture has already decimated farmland birds in the current 15 EU countries, and no real strategy is in place in the new Member States to prevent wildlife from being swept away by the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
"We urgently need to avoid the same mistakes in the new Member States." —Giovanna Pisano, Agriculture Task Force Coordinator, BirdLife
Many farmland bird species that are now uncommon in much of western Europe are still widespread and common in most of the eastern accession countries. For instance the eight mainland accession countries will bring more than 76,000 pairs of White Storks Ciconia ciconia to the EU. Currently, there are just 5,700 pairs in northwest Europe.
Hungary and Poland, in particular, are home to several birds threatened with global extinction, including the Great Bustard Otis tarda, Corncrake Crex crex and Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola.
"Supporting and training farmers to understand wildlife needs will be a crucial step." —Clairie Papazoglou, Head of BirdLife's European Community Office
In 1999, BirdLife International began a project to address the key challenges of EU enlargement. The RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) and Vogelberscherming (BirdLife in the Netherlands) have been working with key BirdLife partner organisations in the accession countries to help protect species and sites of international importance.
BirdLife is now pushing for more CAP funds to be allocated to protecting and creating wildlife-rich areas in the new Member States.