This study is part of a European project, called SPEAR (Scenarios for protecting European avian redistributions), funded by Biodiversa+.

The overall goal of SPEAR is to improve bird conservation in Europe in the face of climate change and to develop improved policy tools to meet new targets set under the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework under the United Nations’ Convention on Biological Diversity.  

More specifically, the SPEAR has the following aims:

  1. Identify gaps in the current European land and marine protected area networks for the conservation for threatened species and critical habitats.
  2. Assess the resilience of the protected area networks under different future scenarios for environmental change.
  3. Assess the cost-effectiveness of management plans for protected areas that will facilitate adaptation of birds to climate change
  4. Investigate regulations needed to ensure sustainable harvest under climate change.
  5. Evaluate the benefits of created and restored wetlands for biodiversity, including their recreational value.
Figure showing the countries and the partners involved in the project.

The SPEAR team comprises an international consortium of scientists from eight research institutions in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Spain and six conservation groups, including the secretariats of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), and the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) both affiliated to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Wetlands International, Stichting BirdLife Europe, the Danish Hunters’ Association, and the European Land Conservation Network (Eurosite). Collaboration between scientists, conservation partners and stakeholders will ensure a strong knowledge base that will inform the policy processes much needed for effective biodiversity conservation in Europe.

Group picture of some of the researchers who wrote the project.