Northern Irish waders could become extinct without 'drastic action'

A number of wader species could become extinct in Northern Ireland without "drastic action", RSPBNI has warned.

The organisation's John Martin said "systemic change" was needed to tackle biodiversity loss. Last year an RSPB report on biodiversity loss suggested the UK was 12th worst of 240 countries.

Common Redshank has declined dramatically as a breeding bird in Northern Ireland (Nick Clayton).

"Over the last 50 years there's been an intensification of agriculture in Northern Ireland which has fragmented habitats and there's been a loss of habitat and an impact on species," he said.

"Farmland birds, for example, have declined significantly. One out of 49 of our priority habitats is in good condition which is not great, 86% of our peatlands are degraded and, because of recent classification changes, no rivers, lakes or coastal water-bodies are in good condition."

Mr Martin said some wader species were under particular threat. "Since 1987 a suite of four species, Northern Lapwing, Common Redshank, Eurasian Curlew and Common Snipe have declined by 83%. So, essentially, if we don't do anything quite drastic for those species in the next five to 10 years we could be seeing them extinct in the wild countryside."

He added that if the NI Assembly gets back up and running there was a case for an agricultural bill that would incentivise farmers to take measures towards improving biodiversity, such as improving water quality and tree planting .