Hedgerows in England are under threat, farmers and nature groups have warned, as the government prepares to cut funding that protects them.
Hedges are vital habitat for many species, providing food and shelter for mammals, birds and pollinators, with the EU paying farmers under its farming subsidy scheme to have them on their land.
But in the transition to post-Brexit farming payments, which are aimed at paying land managers to protect and conserve nature, a scheme that encouraged the laying and maintenance of hedges, could be lost.
To qualify for the basic payments scheme (BPS), which paid land managers per hectare, they had to meet standards including decreeing that farmers did not plough to the base of hedgerows, thus damaging roots, or use fertilisers or pesticides within 2 metres of them. The rules also stated that hedgerows were not cut between 1 March and 31 August without good cause, because this is when birds nest in them.
In advance of these payments being phased out – farmers are getting less of the BPS money every year and instead have the chance to “top up” with new environmental land-management payments – the government is dropping all these requirements at the end of the year.
The RSPB has called for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to keep the hedge protections, or replace them with another hedge-protecting policy.
Alice Groom, the head of sustainable land use policy at the charity, said: “The future of over 547,000km of hedgerow alongside agricultural land is now under threat. As spaces for wildlife we believe hedgerows are an essential part of creating a vibrant countryside and should be recognised as part of the effort to halt species decline in England, as well as helping to keep carbon locked up.
“So we are asking Defra to commit to the protection of our precious hedgerows and ensure that they continue to have the basic protections as afforded under the basic payments scheme.”
Other charities have criticised the lack of care for hedges. Tom Fyans, the director of campaigns and policy at CPRE, the countryside charity, said: “It’s simply not good enough. The anger levels of farmers and land managers trying their best to look after our environment are rising fast because the government is increasingly seen as a hindrance rather than a help.
“Defra has been widely criticised for its lack of ambition when it comes to protections for nature. Worse, it now looks like even the insufficient protections we do have are going to be lost through sheer carelessness.
“There was genuine goodwill back in January when the government announced plans to plant 30,000 miles of new hedgerows. Ministers are in danger of squandering this positive momentum because, despite setting hedgerow targets, there is so far no policy that might actually ensure they are hit.
“Now we find out one of the few protections hedgerows do enjoy is about to become null and void.”
Farmers have also complained and urged the government to act.
Martin Lines, the chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, said: “Hedgerows risk being left with less protection as we shift to a new system of farm payments. Hedgerows bring numerous benefits, from carbon sequestration and natural pest control to flood mitigation, but they are also a part of our countryside’s heritage.
“Removing basic hedgerow protections runs counter to the need to secure ecosystem functionality in ways that improve farming’s resilience. A move to a system of public money for public goods will only be successful if it’s underpinned by a clear regulatory baseline that protects the natural assets that our food production relies upon.”
A Defra spokesperson said: “Hedgerows are an important ecological building block in our landscapes – maintaining the distinctive character of our countryside, improving local air quality, and providing crucial habitats for wildlife. Our countryside stewardship schemes are already helping farmers maintain and restore over 10,000km of existing hedgerow and plant an additional 4,000km of hedges right across the country.
“We are also introducing a new sustainable farming initiative hedgerow standard this year to pay farmers to assess the condition of hedgerows and manage them in a way that will work for wildlife and improve biodiversity. And we will shortly be consulting on how to best further protect them as we phase out the [EU] common agricultural policy.”
