Engage farmers and landowners to manage land for bats

Overall effectiveness category Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)
Number of studies: 1
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

55%
Certainty

20%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Only 14.7% of the world’s land surface is currently protected (UNEP-WCMC & IUCN 2016). Therefore, it is vital to engage effectively with landowners, such as farmers, so that they manage their land in ways that help to maintain bat populations. This may be done by providing advice and support to farmers on how to manage their land specifically for bats.

For an intervention that uses financial incentives to encourage environmentally friendly farming practices that may benefit bats, see ‘Pay farmers to cover the costs of conservation measures (e.g. agri-environment schemes)’. For an intervention that involves providing education, see ‘Educate farmers, land managers and local communities about the benefits of bats to improve management of bat habitats’.

UNEP-WCMC and IUCN (2016) Protected Planet Report 2016. UNEP-WCMC and IUCN: Cambridge UK and Gland, Switzerland.

Study locations

Key messages

One study evaluated the effects of engaging farmers and landowners to manage land for bats on bat populations. The study was in the UK.

COMMUNITY RESPONSE (0 STUDIES)

POPULATION RESPONSE (1 STUDY)

Abundance (1 study): One study in the UKfound that during a five-year project to engage farmers and landowners to manage land for bats, the overall population of greater horseshoe bats at four maternity roosts in the area increased (but see summary below).

BEHAVIOUR (1 STUDY)

Change in human behaviour (1 study): One study in the UK found that a landowner engagement project resulted in 77 bat-related management agreements covering approximately 6,536 ha of land.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A study in 1995–2003 of the greater horseshoe bat project in England, UK (Longley 2003) found that the landowner engagement project resulted in 77 bat-related management agreements covering approximately 6,536 ha of land in Devon, Cornwall, and Somerset. This included 80 km of new/restored hedgerow and 400 ha of grassland within key areas surrounding greater horseshoe bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum maternity roosts. The overall population of greater horseshoe bats at four maternity roosts in Devon was found to increase by 58% in 1995–2003, although the authors note that it is difficult to directly attribute this increase to the project. Advice was provided to 163 landowners and five organisations during farm visits, training seminars and farm walks. Support was also provided with grant applications. The project was widely publicised in the press (24 articles) and TV/radio (five programmes).
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Longley M. (2003) Greater horseshoe bat project (1998-2003). Natural England (English Nature) report, English Nature Research Report 532.

Please cite as:

Berthinussen, A., Richardson O.C. and Altringham J.D. (2021) Bat Conservation: Global Evidence for the Effects of Interventions. Conservation Evidence Series Synopses. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Bat Conservation

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Studies	Category
Pay farmers to cover the costs of conservation measures (e.g. agri-environment schemes) Action Link	Unlikely to be beneficial	3	Synopsis Link
Manage ditches to benefit bats Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	0	Synopsis Link
Plant in-field trees Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	0	Synopsis Link