Program

In this talk, I use 30 years of data collected in SW France, on our study site, the Long-Term Social-Ecological Research (LTSER) Platform “Zone Atelier Plaine & Val de Sèvre”. Since 1994 or 1995, monitoring of 2 Harrier species (Montagu’s and Hen), Little Bustard and Stone Curlew has been on-going every year, including nest search, breeding biology surveys, capture and marking, and Radio-tracking and GPS monitoring. I will present long-term data on each of the species and aspects of breeding biology, long term trends, research findings and conservation measures implemented and their effects on population size and dynamics. I will argue that monitoring trends is insufficient to implement sound conservation measures, and that a whole system approach, including food availability and landscape, is needed to understand the patterns observed and implement correct and realistic conservation strategies. I will also discuss the importance of long-term studies to detect population changes and their drivers. Lastly, I will advocate that beyond implementing a whole system approach, we need also to involve local stakeholders, typically farmers but also beyond them (children, citizens, policy makers), as both drivers of change and potential solutions.