Background The stone-curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus) is listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive, categorised as “vulnerable” in the IUCN European Red List, and classified by BirdLife International as a “Species of European Conservation Concern”. It occurs across much of Europe, but its total population is comparatively small (46 000-78 000 pairs). Its European population underwent a large decline between 1970 and 1990, and again between 1990 and 2000. During the latter period, some national populations remained more or less stable, but others decreased significantly, including that in Spain, the species’ European stronghold. In addition, the species became extinct in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. The decline over the 27 years prior to 2000 exceeded 30%. The UK currently holds only a small proportion of the European stone-curlew population, with approximately 375 pairs in total. However, it is the only country in Europe where numbers of this species are currently increasing. Moreover, it will become ever more important for the stone-curlew if climate change proceeds as expected. This is because climate change is predicted to render the southernmost parts of the bird’s current range increasingly unsuitable, and thus shift its ‘climate space’ northwards (Huntley et al 2007). By 1991, there were only an estimated 168 pairs of stone-curlews in the UK (down from 1 000-2 000 pairs in the 1930s), almost all of which were located in Breckland in eastern England and on Salisbury Plain in southwest England. A recovery project run jointly by the RSPB and Natural England (the statutory agency with responsibility for biodiversity conservation in England) has helped to double the population of stone-curlews since the early 1990s. However, the bird is still dependent on hands-on nest protection work, and it will not be possible for such intensive effort to be maintained over the longer term. Objectives The project plans to deliver a comprehensive, integrated suite of communications actions, aimed primarily at farmers and other land managers, to encourage the adoption of management practices beneficial to the stone-curlew. The overall objective of the project is to secure the future of the species in the UK by making it much less dependent on conservation work than at present, and therefore much more self-sustaining. This species's dependency on conservation efforts is problematic for two main reasons. Firstly, the population is highly vulnerable to any future decreases in conservation effort. Secondly, the scope for the population to grow from its current small size is severely restricted, because only a limited amount of conservation resources can be devoted to this species. The reason that UK stone-curlews are so conservation-dependent is that most of them breed on arable farmland, where their nests are liable to be destroyed by agricultural machinery. The only effective way to minimise such losses is for staff and volunteers from conservation bodies to carry out labour-intensive nest protection work. The project aims to tackle this problem through a comprehensive, integrated programme of advisory, communications and awareness-raising actions, designed primarily to increase the amount of safe nesting habitat available to stone-curlews and thus to reduce (and ultimately eliminate) the need for nest protection work. Expected results: The UK population of stone-curlews is expected to increase during the project period, at a time when the pressure for farm intensification is high. The project is not intended to bring about a major increase in this population in the short term, but is designed to put the species on a much more sustainable footing (and thus to lay the foundations for potential increases in the future).