Responses of Farmland Birds to Eight Years of Environmental Stewardship

This document describes an evaluation of the effectiveness of agri-environment schemes (AES), particularly the Environmental Stewardship (ES) program in England, aimed at conserving farmland bird populations. The evaluation employed bird survey data and statistical analyses to assess the impact of land management practices on bird growth rates across different landscapes. Results showed that while some practices like stubble management had positive effects on certain species, the overall impact was mixed, with some species benefiting more than others. The study concluded that ES management has had a limited impact on bird populations and emphasized the need for targeted management and continued monitoring to improve AES effectiveness. The upcoming New Environmental Land Management Scheme (NELMS) is expected to provide more focused management for scarce species. The document also acknowledges the contributions of various stakeholders and funding from Defra/Natural England. **This summary was written by an AI model and therefore should not be considered a definitive summary of the report. If you are aware of inaccuracies, please email evaluation.registry@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.**

Description

Lead department
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra)
Evaluation stage
A complete evaluation report
Other departments
No other departments listed
Evaluation types
Impact evaluation
Impact methods
Quasi-experimental method
Quasi-experimental methods
Other
Grant information
This intervention is not distributing funding via a grant
Government Major Project information
This intervention is not a major project
Policies
No policies provided

Event Dates

Event Name
Publication of final results
Event date
2014

Evaluation Costs

Cost
Not provided

Evaluation sharing

Link(s) to published report(s)
Yes
Links to evaluation plans
No link provided
Links to published evaluations
Findings
Not provided
Permission to share confirmed
Yes