Sir, - With reference to an article in The Irish Times (November 27th) "Talks begin to solve problems created by ban on machine turf cutting", the Irish Peatland Conservation Council would like to clarify comments made by Mr Michael Canny, Director of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) in relation to raised bogs.
During 1993 and 1994 a national survey was undertaken by the NPWS to identify and map areas of land of conservation importance called Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs). This survey identified 23,628ha of raised bogs in 164 NHA sites of conservation importance and not 8,000ha as Mr Canny stated.
In 1987 the former Minister of State, Mr Noel Treacy TD, committed the Government to conserving 10,000ha of raised bogs, which was believed to be representative of the range of variation of this habitat in Ireland.
Raised bogs are an extremely rare and vulnerable habitat in Western Europe. Across their distribution in Norway, the UK, Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany and Ireland there has been a minimum loss of 90 per cent of the original resource to development, mainly drainage and peat extraction. The 23,628ha of raised bog of conservation importance in Ireland represents 51 per cent of the European, and probably the world resource of this habitat.
In the past 10 years since the Government target was set, 2,500ha of raised bog have been acquired for conservation. This rate of acquisition brings the Government commitment into question especially when one considers that over the same time interval 5,000ha of raised bog have been brought under development.
Therefore, while the NPWS talks are welcomed to arrange compensation payments for turf extractors operating on conservation worthy bogs, Mr Canny must devise a plan of action if the Government is to meet its conservation target of 10,000ha of raised bog. As an added incentive it should be borne in mind that because Irish raised bogs represent the last of their kind in Europe, 75 per cent of the financial cost of conservation will be met by the European Union. - Yours, etc.,
From Catherine O'Connell
Irish Peatland Conservation Council, Capel Street, Dublin 1.