Baden-Württemberg: Million dollar project to protect the endangered lapwing!

Baden-Württemberg: Million dollar project to protect the endangered lapwing!

Baden-Württemberg has launched a comprehensive project to protect the endangered lapwing, which is supported by the Ministry of the Environment with a funding volume of around four million euros. The aim of the project is to restore safe breeding conditions for lapwings in the region, which has seen a dramatic decline of around 92 percent in numbers since 1992. According to current estimates, there are only 300 to 400 breeding pairs of this bird species left in Baden-Württemberg baden-wuerttemberg.nabu.de reported.

The project under the name “KiebitzLand – Biodiversity grows here” focuses on twelve core areas, including Sauldorf in the Sigmaringen district. Here, farmers, like local farmer Herbert Gabele, make land available and receive compensation for it. Several pairs of lapwings have already built their nests on Gabele's field. This partnership between conservation and agriculture is crucial to the long-term success of the project, as tixio.de highlights.

Protective measures and support from volunteers

To protect lapwings, NABU is implementing numerous measures, including the construction of “lapwing islands” with fences and nesting baskets to protect breeding birds from predators. These fences are controlled by area managers who are also responsible for counting lapwings and maintaining the nest protection baskets. In addition, a variety of habitat improvements are being implemented: the creation of shallow ponds and the removal of trees and bushes are intended to deprive birds of prey of their hiding places and offer lapwings a safe breeding place.

Volunteers support the project through monitoring programs that keep an eye on lapwing populations and breeding grounds. This joint effort should not only benefit the lapwing, but also other threatened species such as partridges and certain insects, as the measures to improve habitat conditions also serve general biodiversity, as well as on baden-wuerttemberg.nabu.de is described.

Long-term integration into agricultural support

A central element of the project is the partnership-based collaboration with farmers who receive compensation for loss of yield for their nature-friendly farming. Special practices such as cattle grazing in the project areas promote the creation of open ground areas that are ideal for lapwings. In the long term, the project is to be integrated into the country's agricultural support system to ensure a sustainable future for the lapwings and their habitat.

The commitment to the lapwing represents not only a measure to protect species, but also a step towards a more holistic view of agriculture that balances both economic and ecological concerns.