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Irish Bogs and Fens Conservation Strategy

Peatland habitats are particularly well represented in Ireland, but their decline is now a matter of grave concern - 82% of their former extent has already been lost.

Despite the small size of the country, within the Atlantic Biogeographic Region of Europe, Ireland possesses 51% of the raised bogs and 50% of the blanket bogs of conservation importance remaining in the region. Therefore we have an international obligation to protect peatlands.

To protect what remains of Europe's peatland heritage, the EU has introduced a range of legislation that will help in this regard including the Birds Directive, Habitats Directive and various Agri-Environmental Schemes.

Peatlands have been the top priority for nature conservation in the Republic of Ireland since 1985. During this time the Government has achieved limited success in protecting peatlands, prompted by intense campaigning by the Irish Peatland Conservation Council.

However over the same period, we have also experienced increasing developmental pressure on peatlands which has resulted in significant losses in the quality and quantity of Irish peatlands. In peatlands, unlike other habitats, all the main types of economic use are incompatible with conservation.

To effectively protect peatlands at a National level requires the formulation of a specific peatland strategy regarding the wise use, conservation and management of peatlands. The formulation of a peatland conservation strategy is the accepted method in other European countries such as Northern Ireland (CNCC 1992, DOENI 1993), Switzerland (Grünnig 1994), Sweden (Löfroth 1994 & 1995), Norway (Angell-Petersen 1994), the Netherlands (Beusekom 1990) and Finland (Kaakinen & Salminen 1987).

In contrast to these countries, the Republic of Ireland have no peatland conservation strategy beyond a 50,000ha acquisition target announced by the Government in 1987 (Tracey 1990).

To live up to our international obligations to protect peatlands in Ireland, it is imperative that the Government develop a peatland conservation strategy which should address the following measures.

Policy Measures
* Implement peatland resource wise use principles in Government policies and legislation.

Preparatory Measures
* Complete peatland resource inventories.
* Prepare site management plans.
* Negotiate and make agreements with stakeholders.
* Allocate administrative and research resources.

Land Lease & Acquisition Measures
* Gain long term control over peatland sites by direct purchase, land lease, land swaps, restricting existing rights and conservation designations.

Restoration & Management Measures
* Restore functioning peatland hydrology.
* Maintain and improve habitat conditions.

Measures to Raise Public Awareness & Education
* Engage in dialogue, communication and raising awareness.
* Develop visitor use strategies for peatlands.
* Design outreach education programmes for visitors, stakeholders and local communities focusing on the conservation and wise use of peatlands.

IPCC's call for the development of a peatland conservation strategy for the Republic of Ireland comes at an opportune time for three reasons. Firstly the turn of the millennium is a time for taking stock, for reviewing the legacy from the past and for considering what the future should be for these valuable wetlands. Secondly, Ireland's record rate of economic growth and the increasing wealth in the country must not occur at the expense of further habitat destruction. Lastly, as the international conservation community is preparing a global action plan on peatlands under the auspices of the Ramsar Wetland Convention (GAPP 2000), it is worthwhile linking Irish peatland conservation efforts with those internationally.

We have a responsibility to conserve and protect peatland resources for the social, economic and environmental benefit of Irish people and the international community.

For detailed information on the individual actions that form part of IPCC conservation strategy check out the actions we are involved with below.

• Action 1. Afforestation
• Action 2. Cutaway Bogs
• Action 3. Cutover Bogs
• Action 4. Dumping on Peatlands
• Action 5. Environmental Education & Training
• Action 6. Environmental Impact Assessment
• Action 7. European Habitats & Species Protection
• Action 8. Fen Inventory
• Action 9. Global Action Plan for Peatlands (GAPP)
• Action 10. Global Warming
• Action 11. Moss Peat & Horticulture
• Action 12. Overgrazing
• Action 13. Palaeoecological Archive of Peatlands
• Action 14. Peat Energy
• Action 15. Peatland Archaeological Heritage
• Action 16. Peatland Biodiversity Protection
• Action 17. Peatland Management and Restoration
• Action 18. Rural Environment Protection Scheme
• Action 19. Turbary
• Action 20. Upland and Mountain Areas Inventory
• Action 21. Visitor Use of Protected Areas
• Action 22. Wildlife Act
• Action 23. Wind Energy
• Action 24. Cessation of Turf Cutting