Can Birds Be Used as Tools To Inform Resilient Farming and Environmental Care in the Development of Biodiversity-Friendly Market Accreditation Systems? Perspectives of New Zealand Sheep and Beef Farmers

Abstract

Birds were used as a proxy for wider agroecosystem biodiversity and to examine attitudes and actions of New Zealand sheep and beef farmers toward biodiversity. Farmer interviews were complemented by analysis of a national farmer survey. Analysis of survey and interview responses indicate that farmers regard birds as components of a larger, complex system and bird presence as evidence of a healthy, robust farm environment. Willingness to shoulder responsibility for encouraging birds was linked to the financial constraints of doing so. Market accreditation systems were suggested as the most likely mechanism through which biodiversity conservation measures could be introduced.