MINISTER FOR the Environment John Gormley is to tighten enforcement of measures to protect species and their habitats following the publication yesterday of a grim report showing that many are in danger. Environment Editor, FRANK MCDONALDreports.
Measures will include an accelerated procedure for designating Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), tougher action to deal with water pollution and new regulations to widen enforcement of the EU Habitats Directive beyond SACs.
The latter measure is designed to cover "upstream" developments, such as afforestation, that could have an adverse impact on sensitive habitats, such as those of the freshwater pearl mussel, which is now an endangered species.
In commissioning the Status of EU Protected Habitats and Species in Ireland report, Mr Gormley told the National Parks and Wildlife Service to be "as honest as possible" in its assessment so that problem areas could be addressed.
He also increased the service's budget this year by nearly 40 per cent, to ensure that it would be more capable of protecting the rarest and most vulnerable species and habitats that Ireland is legally obliged to safeguard under EU legislation.
The Minister also noted that a 10-year derogation to allow traditional turf-cutting will expire at the end of this year. But Dr Ciarán O'Keeffe, the National Parks and Wildlife Service director for science and biodiversity, said ending such rights was "going to be very difficult".
He pointed out that some 99 per cent of Ireland's raised bogs were gone, and only 130 of the estimated 1,600 that remain are designated as SACs. "The problem for us now is to save a representative proportion, which is all we can hope to do".
Referring to species under threat, Dr O'Keeffe said the freshwater pearl mussel - which can live for up to 130 years - depends on having very clean water, free of fertiliser run-off from farming or silt from coniferous forestry plantations.
New "operational guidelines" drawn up by the Forest Service in consultation with the National Parks and Wildlife Service were designed to avoid "downstream" impacts on protected habitats, while the EU's Single Farm Payment scheme would help to end overgrazing.
He said the ban on drift-netting should result in Atlantic salmon - one of the species identified by the report as being in a "bad" state - returning in greater numbers to Irish rivers. But climate change was "one of the greatest threats" to biodiversity. At yesterday's launch, the Minister said the critical issue in the next five years and beyond would be to maintain and restore habitats (particularly SACs), with "full engagement" by all stakeholders, and to monitor and report on changes achieved.
