The Steppes of La ManchaSustainable farming in Natura 2000 network areas in Castilla La Mancha for the conservation of steppe birdsLIFE15 NAT/ES/000734 Steppe Farming

Fundación Global Nature Tel + 34 917 10 44 55 www.fundacionglobalnature.orginfo@fundacionglobalnature.org

Regional Government of Castilla La Mancha Tel. +34 925 24 88 29 www.castillalamancha.es rednaturaclm@jccm.es

www.estepasdelamancha.es

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Ayuntamientode Lillo

Extensive grazing by cattle and traditional cereal crops, in rotation with lying fallow, legumes and other herbaceous crops, has over the centuries altered the landscape of the plateaux and large valleys of the Iberian Peninsula. In this way, habitats similar to natural steppes have arisen. Steppe birds, originally from the great plains of Asia and Central Europe, have adapted to these agrarian systems with high natural values since the Neolithic Age. Nowadays, Spain is home to the last and most important populations of these birds following their extinction in a large part of the rest of the Continent. Specifically, Castilla La Mancha is one of the last refuges for these species. It hosts 40% of the European population of great bustard and Iberian sandgrouse and between 10 and 20% of stone curlew. Over a third of the world population of little bustard lives in Castilla La Mancha. This is also the region with the largest populations of species of hunting interest associated with these crops, such as partridge and quail.

The changes in and intensification of traditional farming practices is one of the most important reasons for the decline of these species. The loss of hedgerows, fallow lands and the cultivation of legumes, the advances in irrigation, or the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides cause poisoning, food shortage through a smaller number of invertebrates and the destruction of refuges. The introduction of short-cycle cereals has shortened the farming calendar and triggered the destruction of nesting clutches by the use of combined harvesters.

The “Steppes of La Mancha” LIFE project is intended to slow down the fall in the populations of steppe birds in collaboration with farmers in four of the main Special Protection Areas of Castilla La Mancha included within the Natura 2000 network.

Social implication is an essential element of the project. In addition to the participation of the collective devoted to the primary sector, the involvement of the administrations and the local population is encouraged. The environment awareness and communication activities aimed at schoolchildren and the general public are a key factor for ensuring the long-term conservation of steppe birds in La Mancha.

New farmers are joining this network of voluntary agreements run by Fundación Global Nature in the region of La Mancha, thus helping them to implement agronomic measures that improve the profitability of their farms and, at the same time, protect the steppe birds. Along with other measures, it is intended to diminish the pressure of nitrogen and pesticides by adjusting dosage to their real needs and applying comprehensive pest control systems, as well as to increase the surface areas in rotation with fallow lands and legumes or the creation of strips or islands of uncultivated vegetation so as to favour both protected species and also those of hunting interest.

In collaboration with the Local Grazing Committees, farmers have agreed to re-organize grazing in at least 5,000 hectares and so avoid the growth of scrub and the subsequent conversion into pasture of uncultivated land that provide habitats for some of the most threatened birds, such as the little bustard, stone curlew or Dupont's lark.

1 Farm stewardship network

The adoption of these measures enables them not only to access environmental and farming aid under the Rural Development Plans but also to comply with the Code of Sustainable Production and Sourcing for the Conservation of Steppe birds, which is the foundation of the programme for the differentiated marketing also foreseen in the project. The high-quality products generated in the form of crops helping to protect great bustards, little bustards and other species, practically extinct in the rest of Europe, are able to access differentiated markets that pay a higher price for them. The LIFE project is working on the differentiation of cereals and legumes and also, on a smaller scale, saffron, olive oil and almonds.

2 Differentiated marketing

The project entitled “Steppes of La Mancha” also intends to improve the diversity of the landscape and the ecological connectivity through the recovery of hedgerows, boundaries, watering points, nesting areas and the elimination of risks.

In order to recover the ecological connectivity, 20 km of hedgerows and boundaries between farming plots are being restored with over 120 000 low-growing plants, in close to 20 different species of bushes and herbaceous plants. This will regenerate an essential habitat and refuge for the reproduction of the birds, with a greater biomass of invertebrates that form the basic foodstock for the chicks during their first weeks of life. As one-off actions, work is also being carried out on the opening or improvement of 50 watering points, the restoration or creation of 15 kestrel shelters (roofs or old constructions for nests of lesser kestrels), the modification of 5 km of barbed wire or the signalling of 10 km of fencing or espalier vines to prevent the collision of birds with the wires.

The project is also supported by an ambitious programme of awareness-raising among the locals and the school population, reaching almost 49 municipalities and 5 000 pupils.

All the work carried out is monitored through various protocols for ornithological monitoring, plant connectivity, environmental and farming indicators and also socio-economic markers. The monitoring actions and data will be provided via a geographic information system (GIS) that will be available free of charge to the general public through viewers.

3 Environmental restoration work and scientific monitoring

This initiative takes place between 2016 and 2019 in 57 municipalities of four Special Bird Protection Areas and Special Conservation Areas in La Mancha Region. It is co-financed by the European Union LIFE programme and its partners include Fundación Global Nature and the Regional Government of Castilla La Mancha.