§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his letter to the hon. Member for Linlithgow of 27 November on the song thrush, if he will list the research projects into the causes and possible solutions to the decline in farmland birds to which he was referring. [8013]
§ Mr. ClappisonResearch dealing with the possible relationship between farming practices over the last 20 years and population of farmland birds is listed in the table. All the research is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
Contractor Project title Institute of Terrestrial Ecology/ADAS Field survey and experimentation; the effects of water regime on bird and invertebrate populations Game Conservancy Trust Arable reversions to permanent grassland; determining best management options to benefit declining bird populations British Trust for Ornithology/Institute of Terrestrial Ecology/Central Science Laboratory Effects of agricultural management on farmland birds Oxford University/British Trust for Ornithology The effects of agricultural change on bird populations Central Science Laboratory Assessment of the effects of seed treatments on birds feeding in orchards Central Science Laboratory Improving the assessment of pesticides risks to birds in orchards Central Science Laboratory Strategic monitoring and modelling of woodpigeon populations to predict damage and the implication of agricultural change Ecoscope Applied Ecologists Enhancement of farm woodlands for birds