AN EU-funded project to eradicate an invasive plant which is eroding land and putting important fish habitats in a north Cork river at risk, will be formally announced tomorrow by Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan.
Himalayan Balsam, which was introduced from India as an ornamental plant for its pretty pink flower, has spread from gardens and roadsides and is now causing major problems on river banks and habitats throughout Ireland including in north Cork.
But local development group IRD Duhallow, in conjunction with Inland Fisheries Ireland, has begun a €1 million EU-backed project to eradicate the invasive plant from the banks of the river Allow which flows from Freemount in north Cork through Kanturk to Banteer where it enters the Blackwater.
Project scientist Dr Fran Igoe explained that Himalayan Balsam, also known as Policeman’s Helmet, competes with native vegetation for space and leaves exposed banks of silt on the riverside when it dies back in the autumn.
This silt poses a serious threat to salmon eggs in spawning beds when it is washed down river in winter floods while it also impacts on the capacity of the river to support fresh water mussels which can live to more than 100 years of age in the right conditions.
Chairman of the Duhallow group Michael Twohig expressed confidence that the project, which will involve halting river bank erosion and controlling river weed, will completely remove the plant from the banks of the Allow within its four-year time frame.
“We plan to work with our communities, schools, farmers, angling clubs and environmental interests on this project. We have long believed our natural resources, if properly developed with an eye to conservation, hold the best prospect of economic revival for Duhallow.”
Rivers have the potential to generate tourism based on angling, walking and wildlife appreciation, he added.
Dr Igoe said the spread of non-native invasive species is becoming a scourge and while some are benign and harmless to native species, others affect native species and bring serious economic costs. Methods he had developed during trials on the Mulkear River, Co Limerick, are being used on the Allow project, he said.