25 Sep 2017 MARKVILDTPROJEKTET – SMALL GAME MANAGEMENT PROJECT (DENMARK)
The main purpose of the project of this month is to create guilds within a defined area of a minimum of 1.000-1.500 hectares, where farmers, ornithologists, hunters, beekeepers etc. work together to manage their land in the optimal way for Brown Hare (Lepus Europaeus) and Grey Partridge (Perdix Perdix) conservation activities.
In collaboration with environmental NGOs, universities, scientists, but also with public authorities, land owners, farmers and hunters are voluntarily conducting research and collecting data with a primary focus on the two target species but also to measure the benefits this management plan provide to non-target species.
Each guild is linked to a professional wildlife manager who works at the Danish Hunters Association. Each landowner in the guild can receive free counsel on how to improve their terrain. The local hunters, which partly conduct and finance this project, are often the main drivers in the guilds, while the farmers are important to implement.
The project is based on five ground principles:
volunteerism;
focus on nature and habitats;
monitoring of populations;
free professional counselling;
cooperation and synergy between landowners across field boundaries and interests.
Results show that keeping and protecting permanent habitats contributes to the expansion of ecospace and variation in biodiversity.
Contact and sources:
Thomas Iversen – Project leader, Danish Hunters Association
tiv@jaegerne.dk