Advocacy
The Off-Reserve Working Group
The gathering in March 2015 also highlighted the role of the wider landscape outside of reserves. There was a real sense among the partners that without sites producing good number of breeding waders in the wider countryside, overall numbers of redshank and lapwing will continue to go down. Furthermore, whilst many of the sites with the highest potential are already in agri-environment schemes, there are still some of these sites that could be improved. The partners also recognised that where there are good numbers of breeding waders in private ownership, these could act as effective springboards for wider advocacy. The Working Group will work to gather evidence of success, provide support to landowners and advocate suitable agri-environment options in key areas.