Fens - We urgently need your help to conserve

Ireland's Fenlands

Fens are places where land and water meet. In these "half-way" worlds you find a curious mixture of terrestrial and aquatic environments - rich in wildlife and habitats.

Ireland originally had 92,000ha of fens. 58% of these vital wetlands have been drained and filled. The disappearance of the bittern by 1840 was mainly due to drainage of fens, bogs and marshes.

Fens support internationally and nationally significant wildlife species of birds, snails, butterflies, wild flowers and insects. These areas are being destroyed by agricultural intensification and land reclamation.

This has a direct impact on wildlife since animals use the fens as places to forage, hunt, rest and hide.

The IPCC is spear heading a campaign to focus awareness on fens.

What is a Fen?
A fen is a poorly drained wetland area covered by mats of floating plants and moss. These slowly decompose in successive layers to eventually from peat.

Up to 200 different plants are found in fens. Sedges dominate the vegetation. Under foot, the lime-loving "Brown" mosses are abundant. Fens also support reeds, orchids, grasses and trees in the drier parts.

Fens occur in river flood plains, on lake margins, in valleys and in parts of blanket bogs and dune grasslands where there is moving water. After peat cutting fens often regenerate on cutaway bogs.

What Good are Fens?
It's easy to regard fens as mere wasteland of little or no value. So it's not surprising that many people reclaim fens, by draining them or filling them in. To do so is a serious mistake.

Not only are we losing precious wildlife habitats, but much like our kidneys, fen plants filter the waters feeding them from streams and run off, reducing pollution.

Two hundred years ago fens extended over hundreds of square miles in Ireland - a magnificent landscape that would have taken your breath away.

As these fenlands were drained, birds became rarer, and the bittern was driven to extinction. The loss of fens continues today. This habitat will almost certainly disappear without a programme of conservation action.

The full extent of the habitat is still unknown in Ireland because there has never been a national survey. Of the three peatland types in Ireland, fens have the lowest protected area - only 746ha have been conserved in 12 sites.

The Irish Government have not declared a target area for fen conservation, that we can work towards. And yet, at the same time these areas are the most at risk from drainage, landfill and road widening projects.

This is unacceptable. Please help us convince Government to take action for fens.

How You Can Help IPCC's Fenland Campaign

IPCC is leading a campaign to help take action for fens in Ireland. The campaign involves:

* describing the different types of fen found in Ireland
* surveying fens to produce an up-to-date list of sites worthy of conservation
* preparing and publishing a conservation strategy for fens for circulation to Government Departments, the European Commission and County Councils

With this information IPCC will be in a strong position to call for a national survey of fens and the setting of a conservation target for this vital wetland habitat, which has been ignored to date.

Please Join With Us Today

IPCC is working all around the country fighting for our vanishing fenlands.

We can't fight alone.

Please support this crucial work today.

Further Information and Getting Involved

Find out more about fens, the rare species found in them. You can find more background information on fens in Ireland here.

When you have learned more about these habitats, why they are important and the rich wildlidfe they contain - and would like to support our campaign to see more of the fenlands and their wildlife protected - you can support the campaign further here.

Or you can take part in our national Fen Inventory Project to identify all the important sites in Ireland that should be conserved. You can find out more about the survey, the fen types we are looking for and get a survey form here.

Irish Peatland Conservation Council Registered Charity Number CHY6829