Sophie Leguil Profile picture
May 20, 2021 β€’ 20 tweets β€’ 10 min read β€’ Read on X
A terrifying yet unsurprising study has just been published about biodiversity in Luxembourg, "in freefall". 😟 This is a tiny country, the size of Greater London roughly divided in two: a wooded, hilly North & a flatter agricultural, urban and industrial South πŸ‡±πŸ‡Ί πŸ„πŸŒΎπŸŒ²πŸ­πŸ—οΈ 1/n
2/n Luxembourg is sadly famous for its 600 banks. There's scientific knowledge through @naturmusee & cross-borders projects. But the economic pressure is strong. Urbanisation, property speculation & infrastructure projects are rampant. Perhaps this study will be an eye-opener?
3/n Here are some the findings: 68% of habitats are in poor/bad conservation state, only 16% of grasslands in good state. 83% of fauna/flora in poor/bad state - populations of Grey partridge β†˜οΈfrom 330 in 1980 to 10 now ; Little owl β†˜οΈfrom 3400 to 20 😱 πŸ¦πŸ¦‰πŸ¦€
4/n Whether birds (as a separate group), habitats or protected species are considered, agriculture πŸ§‘β€πŸŒΎπŸ‘©β€πŸŒΎis in fact the key pressure, followed by urbanisation and habitat changes. Other pressures on Luxembourg habitats include changes such as water use, forestry, climate change
5/n The state of Luxembourg's water bodies has also been studied: out of 98, 51% are in average conservation status, 23% unsatisfactory & 20% in bad status. Same with groundwater table. The culprits? Pesticides and nitrates, probably from agriculture.
6/n The conclusions are brutal & could probably fit other countries than Lux: "no improvement in the state of the environment with current agricultural policies", "trend towards further deterioration of biodiversity and water quality", "lack of ecologically effective measures" ☠️
7/n Only 4.6% of Luxembourg's agricultural land is farmed organically (EU average: 8.5%). Interestingly, measures that are well accepted by farmers & get most money πŸ’΅(eg compensation) are also the least environmentally effective...πŸ₯€
8/n Urbanisation can be limited through political will. But what about agriculture, that seems to be the main driver of biodiversity loss in Lux? 🌻 This is very interesting, because it fits within current discussions on the EU CAP... πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί The study explores three strategies:
9/n The strategies form part of the CAP reform, but negotiations are still ongoing, with push-pull between EU commission, parliament & the Agriculture Council. Hardly surprising (popular measures=least constraining=often the least effective). Luxembourg is no exception.
10/n Conditionality use a set of standards that member states & farmers have to comply with: for example, preserving a certain area of permanent grassland, non-farmed margins, 5% of fallow land, protection of Natura2000 grasslands etc
11/n The eco-schemes are a new thing - payments for farmers/states that go the extra mile & promote better practice, with targets to be defined at national or local basis. And third, we have "agri-environment-climate measures" around carbon, reduced fertilisation & pesticide use
12/n Obviously, this is a *very* complicated machinery, to be implemented at European, national, regional and local level. The question is: will a new CAP solve the agriculture-related biodiversity loss in Luxembourg and elsewhere? πŸƒ
(continued) 13/n This is a need analysis for land covered by biodiversity measures. 1st column is the surface (in ha) that SHOULD fall under measures, 2nd column is the surface that DOES. Massive shortfall, both for grassland (pastures) and agricultural land (extensive crops)
14/n The estimated need for Luxembourg is the implementation of "ecologically effective" measures on 30% of grassland and 25-30% of arable land. Needless to say, the country is far, far, from that (as are many in Europe).
15/n Similarly, for water, strong measures SHOULD be implemented too: voluntary measures on 12,000 out 16,000 ha of "water protection areas", reduction of fertilisation & pesticides, cover crops, riparian buffer stips, conversion to grassland etc...πŸ’§
16/n Can the new CAP deliver these objectives? There are many debates on the topic in EU countries, with worries that the "compulsory" measures lack strength, and that they will only marginally improve the situation, certainly not enough to elicit long-term change & stop decline
17/n The study is highlighting possible additional measures: stricter control in water protection areas, bonuses for organic farms, training and support to farmers or debt relief conditional to better practices. πŸ„πŸ€ πŸπŸŒ±πŸŒΌ
18/n More interestingly, the Luxembourg study also proposes "creating perspectives for agriculture" through marketing for sustainable products, consumer awareness with a view to create a "social contract". πŸ‘¨β€πŸŒΎπŸ‡±πŸ‡Ί
19/n The aim is to find "joint solutions between agriculture and nature conservation". But the study concludes by saying that ultimately, "political will is the basis". Will the EU πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί and Luxembourg's πŸ‡±πŸ‡Ί politicians act NOW? It has never been more urgent...
20/n (final tweet) If anyone is interested in Luxembourg's nature & conservation, I'd recommend following @naturmusee @Natur_an_Emwelt @MNHNLdigitise @MNHNLbiodiv @Greenpeace_Lux (and the very cool company @space4env doing mapping for the environment)

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More from @SLeguil

Jun 24, 2022
It's "wildflower" season again on social media. Great colourful displays BUT issues which need to be raised :
1) They are often not WILDFLOWERS
2) They are not the best for INSECTS, they may be (not always) to POLLINATORS
3) They certainly aren't MEADOWS
Let me explain 1/n ImageImageImage
Many of the seed mixes contain non-native plants such as California poppies or Mexican cosmos. Even "native" mixes often contain a restricted range of plants, mainly cornfield annuals (poppies, cornflowers...). They're pretty - why does this matter? 2/n ImageImage
As botanists, we are often accused of "plant extremism". But most of us are just concerned about doing the best for nature. Plants and insects have often co-evolved together, meaning that there are specific relationships in different areas of the globe. 3/n Image
Read 17 tweets
Mar 4, 2022
France's yearly agricultural exhibition #SIA2022 has opened in a tense context of discussions about food sovereignty. But how is πŸ‡«πŸ‡· faring? Not that well. Only in the past 10 years, 100,000 farms have disappeared, 80,000 farming jobs lost - big increase in farm size 1/n
2/n Increase in farm size often correlated (but not always) with biodiversity loss, eg through plots being brought together, hedgerows removed, more mechanisation. This happened massively during the post-war "remembrement" and is particularly visible in some regions
3/n This has been accompanied by a change in crop types. While France is around 80% autosufficient, there have been decreases in the degree of self-sufficiency eg for fruit and vegs which are imported massively from Southern Europe (the plastic sea of Spain)
Read 19 tweets
Dec 15, 2021
Thread. I was born close to one of France's largest nuclear power plants, Cattenom: a "normal" landscape for local residents since its opening in 1985. ☒️The plant needs a huge amount of cooling water, so an artificial reservoir was created. But how is biodiversity impacted? 1/n
2/n The Mirgenbach lake (7.3 million m3) is a unique ecosystem. Despite being in a cold region (we frequently get -15Β°C), winter water temp never gets <12Β°C, meaning that organisms don't behave as in surroundings lakes. Fishing is permitted, as are other activities (windsurf..)
3/n Biodiversity has been extensively studied. While the site is a hotspot for birds (especially migrators as it is so warm in winter), the situation is slightly more contrasted in other groups. Fish or plant diversity for example is affected by temperature.
Read 22 tweets
Sep 28, 2021
1/n Purist or not? I listed arguments against using non-native flower mixes in my blog post. One of them is of course the fact that mixes contain non-native plants, which may be of little use to insects. But it's not the only one. naturanaute.com/2019/07/18/whe…
2/n Another issue is land use. Do people realise that these mixes require obliterating anything that's present before, often through the use of herbicides? This may destroy interesting plants, insects, soil flora, fungi... and councils rarely do prior botanical/insect surveys.
3/n Annual mixes have to be resown every year: they are not competitive against grasses or other plants, non-native plants don't set seed, some species become dominant etc. What's the carbon cost of those floral displays? Is it offset by other ecological benefits?
Read 9 tweets
Feb 1, 2021
The London Resort theme park has passed its 1st planning hurdle - and it is a death sentence on nature in SE England. Conservationists are trying to save this amazing nature space, but with 2.5bn investments & a government committed to infrastructure projects, what hope is there?
Swanscombe includes habitats that have become rare with urbanisation along the Thames, such as chalk grassland, wetlands & brownfield. It is home to 250 insect species of "conservation concern" - that is, at risk of extinction!
Of course, there are rare plants, such as Hairy Vetchling, Round-leaved Wintergreen, Pyramidal/Man orchids. It is also an important site for bird life, from residents to migratory birds which are able to stop and feed away from the bustle of the city & nearby industrial estates.
Read 9 tweets
Jun 11, 2020
Morning rant...I am fed up with being called angry and dull for pointing out potentially damaging actions marketed as conservation - "wildflower" mixes, storks etc... Yes, we need more direct action, but why does it have to be dumbed down and "prettified"? 1/n
2/n with my other hat (@morethanweeds), I have started to introduce urban residents to their local flora, and the response has been fantastic - people are sending me emails to ask me how to transplant Herb Robert and poppies from their streets before they get sprayed!
3/n organisations such as @Natures_Voice encourage people to observe local birds and make their gardens more attractive. My point is: why does it have to be so different with plants? Are wild plants considered to be so boring that we have to "garden" them?
Read 16 tweets

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