PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The Varde river is the only major river valley in Denmark which has not been regulated with dykes and locks at its outfall into the Wadden Sea. This, together with its situation close to the Wadden Sea, ensured that, up to the 1950s, the region's varied fresh-water and salt marshes were an excellent area for birds, animals and plants. This was one of the last permanent areas for the corncrake, Crex crex, in Denmark - a species listed in the Birds Directive, Annex I. The corncrake thrives particularly well where traditional hay harvesting and grazing methods are used. Over time, the region's marshes were subjected to intensive farming and became the centre for the production of grass pellets for feeding livestock. Over 1,700 ditches were dug to drain the wet areas and large quantities of chemical fertilizers were used to achieve maximum growth. This, of course, had its effects on the area's natural qualities, which were gradually impaired over the years. However, the region's marshes were not very extensively ploughed up, which meant that restoring the valuable natural characteristics that used to exist would be easier, if the local farmers were given the means to change their farming methods. Fortunately for birds and nature, this was precisely what happened in the run-up to the project. With falling prices for grass pellets, the Varde Farmers' Union began to examine the possibilities of adapting farming, securing local ownership of, and use of, the land. The Union estimated that a new approach to the area's utilisation would constitute an ideal case for EU subsidies for environmentally-friendly farming, ensuring at least 20 years' profitable use of the land. For the region to qualify for this aid scheme, the marshes had to be restored to their original wet state. The Environment and Energy Ministry saw this as a good opportunity for improving the region's natural qualities. Therefore, in cooperation with the Agriculture Ministry and the Varde Farmers' Union, it submitted an application to LIFE for support for a project involving the restoration of this important bird protection area. The project site included the lower part of the Varde River (Varde Å) valley, the estuary (habitat type 1130) and the Atlantic salt meadows (habitat type 1330) around Ho Bay (Ho Bugt). This was one of the very few river outlets to the Wadden Sea that was still unregulated, and the only one in Denmark with the natural dynamics linked to tide and storm-floods still intact.
OBJECTIVES
The overall objective of the project was to improve the conditions for the habitats and species by raising water levels in the area, ending the use of pesticides and fertilisers and extensifying agricultural production. The project area of 2,700 ha involved around 436 landowners and was divided into 13 sections. One of the project's measures was to describe in detail which actions should take place in each individual section, and what the final outcome would be in terms of conservation benefit and subsequent management requirements. The acceptance of the landowners was a critical assumption for the project, although the project could still be completed successfully even if not all sections came on board. This was possible because each of the 13 compartments in the project covered a substantial area, 80-460 ha. Each time one of the 13 compartments was completed, this helped to enhance and secure the conditions for wildlife in the project area as a whole. The most important activities would consist in defining the hydrological conditions in each of the 13 compartments in the area covered by the project, and in creating an extended network of locks and dams to ensure a higher level of moisture. When this was done and the local farmers were prepared to accept other conditions such as limits to the use of chemical fertilizers, they could enter into agreements for support from schemes to assist environmentally-friendly farming. Results expected: 1. The important habitats, i.e. the estuary, the Atlantic salt meadows, the fresh meadows, and the river itself, should obtain a more beneficial conservation status. The river and the estuary, as well as the bay below, would also benefit from less use of fertilisers, and the vegetation of the meadows would redevelop towards more diverse plant societies. The lower nutrition level, together with the higher ground-water level, would halt the overgrowth of the meadows, even in areas without grazing or mowing. 2. The present populations of animals and plants, including fish species such as Coregonus oxyrhynchus, mammals like Lutra lutra, birds like Recurvirostra avosetta, amphibians and invertebrates, would increase. Alosa fallax, Crex crex, Philomachus pugnax and Margaritifera margaritifera might return. For Crex crex, the delayed mowing date, as a result of the ceased production of grass feeding pellets, would also mean better breeding possibilities. 3. The project would contribute towards keeping agriculture functioning in the project area. 4. An expected secondary effect was more visitors to the area, to experience the increased biodiversity.
RESULTS
By the end of the project, 2,488 ha of land was restored to a natural hydrological condition, and subsequently entered into 20-year management agreements. This involved just over 250 farmers and covered 92 % of the initial target of 2,700 ha. · The foremost conservation benefit of the project is that the area is secured for conservation-friendly management over at least the next 20 years. The internal hydrological processes were restored thanks to the work cofinanced by LIFE. With the 20-year management contracts, it became possible to ensure a more long-term agricultural activity which is in accordance with the requirements for the maintenance of favourable conservation status of the habitats and species concerned. Although it will take some time for the conservation values to increase as a result of the project actions, monitoring trends at project end were already positive. The corncrake (Crex crex), for instance, was making a comeback after 30 years of absence. There were indications of a recovery of wetland bird species with an overall negative trend in Europe (e.g. lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, and yellow wagtail, Motacilla flava), but it was still too early to expect any clear results. Monitoring also indicated that grass vegetation was still dominated by species favoured by fertile soils. The long-term monitoring planning includes a general survey during 2017-2022, when the current 20-year agreements expire. · With the project it was possible to demonstrate "full scale" how the hydrology of a salt meadow site characterised by influence of tide and floods could be restored with a combination of "low-tech" solutions (sluice gates, riffles etc), which once "in place" need a minimum of maintenance and have been shown to withstand storm-floods with an acceptable and manageable degree of damage. · The project represented a "case study" on the potential to use LIFE to pump-prime long-term management agreements within the agri-environmental scheme. · There was a clear vested interest from the farmers at the outset to find alternative forms of income that would allow them to hold onto their land in the wake of the collapse of the grass pellet market. The ability of LIFE-Nature to help farmers draw down 20 year agri-environment agreements met that need, and demonstrated a clear win-win situation, where both the farmers and the conservationists benefited. Thanks to an initial investment through LIFE-Nature, the farmers were able to continue farming and owning their land for the next 20 years, supported by agri-environment payments. · A factor which contributed to the final outcome was the locally-based project management, which spent much of its time visiting farmers. The project management had clear, detailed predictions of what the land would look like after the ditches were blocked, with maps etc., as a result of the detailed pre-investigations done during the initial phase of the project. The short distance between decisions and actions, and the co-operation with the local farmers' association and individual land-owners, were crucial for implementation. Linking the project to a rural land consolidation process added an important economic incentive which helped farmers to participate. · In order to facilitate public access to the site, some small-scale investments were done, e.g. 7 information boards (with maps) plus various small signs along the trails, and one information platform. Eight issues of a project newsletter were distributed to land-owners, households, local press etc.