PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Osmoderma eremita, the hermit beetle, is considered a priority under the Habitats Directive as it is one of the most threatened invertebrates in Europe. Its demise is mainly due to its sedentary lifestyle. It lives and develops in old hollow broadleaf trees, feeding off soft rotting wood, and seldom flies more than 500-1000 metres away from its host tree. Its survival is therefore threatened by the fragmentation of habitats, which leads to greater distances between suitable host trees, the lack of successors to the old hollow trees, overgrowth of open oak-wooded pastures and predation, particularly by red ants. Today, it survives only in a handful of European Union countries and in the Balkans. Sweden is thought to hold 30-50% of the known EU population and so has a particular responsibility for its survival. Focusing on 45 sites which altogether cover 75% of the Swedish population, the project represented a strategic programme for the conservation of the species in that country. The first step would be to identify the exact management needs for the conservation of the species and to develop individual management plans for each of the 45 sites. After that negotiations were to be undertaken with the land owners for purchasing land or paying out economic compensation to protect the valuable trees. In parallel, the project would undertake a large-scale restoration programme to bring the sites back up to a level where they are suitable for the species and where they can be managed in the long term through agri-environment payments under Regulation 2078/92. The clearance operations were also interesting in themselves as they would be contracted out to special clearance teams recruited for job creation purposes. At the same time, efforts would be made to raise awareness amongst local communities and to carry out an inventory to identify further sites within Sweden. Finally, in order to share the management experience gained from this project, the beneficiary would produce a report and organise a pan-European workshop.
OBJECTIVES
The specific objectives of the project were to: 1. Identify the management needs for the conservation of Osmoderma eremita in Sweden; 2. Protect the species' habitats within 34 of the pSCIs it occurs in (its habitats were already protected in the other 11 sites); 3. Restore the species' habitats within all 45 pSCIs to bring them up to a level where they are good for the species; then enter these restored sites into agri-environment schemes; 4. Raise awareness amongst local farmers and land owners about the need to conserve this species; 5. Identify further suitable habitats for the species in Sweden. By the end of the project all 45 pSCIs were to be protected and designated as nature reserves and to be managed according to the management plans. In addition: · a comprehensive programme for Osmoderma eremita in Sweden, · a brochure on the conservation of the species' habitats destined for landowners, · a report on the situation of Osmoderma eremita in Europe, · a report on the results of the inventory of further suitable sites for the species, were to be produced
RESULTS
As regards land purchase and compensation, 994 ha was purchased/compensated in 24 sites. Satisfactory assurances for the long-term sustainability of the project's results were achieved for an additional nine sites of 1,256 ha; making a total of 2,250 ha in 33 sites where appropriate conservation management is guaranteed. This is in addition to the 13 sites that benefited from a national legal protection status already at project start. Actions were also foreseen for clearing scrub and for fencing areas in order to bring the land up to a standard where it could enter into long-term management agreements (agri-environment). The target for clearance was 668 ha on 40 sites; the project finally cleared 692 ha on 39 sites. The target for fencing was 50.4 km in 24 sites; fencing was finally done over 59.5 km in 32 sites. After clearing and fencing, followed up by temporary grazing contracts at some sites, agri-environmental agreements were signed covering 888 ha in 39 sites by the end of the project. The area covered by these agreements would be further increased after the project. The information and dissemination activities included: · A comprehensive conservation programme for the preservation of the species throughout Sweden. This was officially adopted by SEPA and formed the basis of conservation action in Sweden until the end of 2003. It was further backed up by individual management plans for at least 37 sites harbouring the species and protected, inter alia, through this project. · An information brochure (in Swedish and English), with landowners and other stakeholders concerned by the management of Osmoderma habitats as the main target group. · An international seminar, held 3-4 August 1999, with 30 participants from Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, UK and France. · A report, in Swedish, entitled "The hermit beetle (Osmoderma eremita) in Sweden - status and distribution", based on the results of detailed field inventories to identify additional sites with Osmoderma. Another 50 sites were indeed found as a result of this survey – thereby substantially increasing the knowledge of the species in Sweden and in the EU. The inventory indicated that around 50 sites in Sweden can be judged to be of sufficiently satisfactory conservation status to assure the survival of the species at national level. Summing up, the project made a very significant contribution to the conservation of this priority species in Sweden through a variety of ways: · Increased knowledge about the status, distribution and management needs of the species. · 75% of the sites in Sweden where this species is present brought up to favourable conservation status. · Long-term management of these sites guaranteed through land purchase, national legal protection or agri-environmental agreements. · Awareness of this obscure beetle increased amongst general public and landowners alike. The project was thus a demonstration of LIFE-Nature supporting a short-term but work-intensive initiative bringing a specific species or habitat up to the level where the long-term maintenance of its conservation status can be assured, in this case at the national level. The project has also had some external influence, contributing to increased understanding and inspiration for the protection of broad-leaved forests and wooded pastures (habitats linked to Osmoderma eremita). In 2001 SEPA initiated a national survey of old and large deciduous trees, considering their biological values with reference to insects, bryophytes, lichens and fungi, to lead to the preparation of an action plan.