Index Home Join IPCC

Report from the SAC Atlantic Biogeographic Meeting in the Hague June 2002

For release 7th June 2002

The final Atlantic Biogeographical Seminar is currently underway in The
Hague in the Netherlands at which the decisive list of Special Areas of
Conservation for 61 habitats and 21 species occurring in Ireland and which
are considered to be under threat in Europe will be agreed. The meeting is
vital for nature conservation in Ireland and the non governmental
organisations have been preparing for it for two years.

Dr Peter Foss of the Irish Peatland Conservation Council is attending the
meeting as the only Irish non governmental organisation representative from
Ireland. His mission is to argue for the designation of additional Special
Areas of Conservation particularly for peatlands, wetlands, grasslands,
bats, otters, marsh fritillary butterfly and salmon.

The first Atlantic Biogeographical meeting took place in Kilkee in 1999.
Since that time the Government have made some progress towards redressing
some of the insufficiencies in the designation of SAC's for nature
conservation. The meeting has recognised their efforts and ruled that
Ireland has designated a sufficient number of sites for 32 habitats. For the
other 29 habitats they have been severly reprimanded.

Dr Foss reports the details results from the first two days of the meeting
which has concentrated on the 61 habitats represented in Ireland.

"So far we have obtained a ruling of insufficiency of sites designated for
13 habitats - lagoons, vegetation of stony banks, hardwater
oligo-mesotrophic lakes, alpine heaths, orchid-rich grasslands, active
raised bog, degraded raised bog, transition mire, Rhynchospora depressions,
Cladium fens, petrifying springs, alkaline fens, and residual alluvial
forest. For these Dúchas will have to designate more sites as SACs."

" In addition we have obtained a ruling of scientific reserve on 14 other
habitats (where there is a dispute over the scientific data available on the
habitats between the NGO's and Dúchas) for sand banks, reefs, humid dune
slacks, vegetated sea cliffs, upland oligotrophic lakes, natural eutrophic
lakes, wet heaths, dry heaths, Calamarian grasslands, lowland hay meadows,
limestone pavements, caves not open to the public and bog woodland. For
these habitats the NGO's will have to negotiate with Dúchas and provide
detailed information on the sites they have included on their SAC shadow
list, many of which have never been surveyed by Dúchas to assess their
nature conservation value."

An outstanding result has been achieved at the meeting thanks to the
preparatory work undertaken by the NGOs and members of the public who helped
to build the shadow list of SACs for Ireland which was funded by the
Heritage Council. On the basis of this information and thanks to the strong
arguments presented by Dr Foss at the meeting more of our peatlands, lakes,
forests and grasslands will be conserved as SACs - the very finest sites and
habitats in the country and in Europe.

The meeting concludes today with an examination of the progress made by
Dúchas on the designation of SACs for the protection of species including
the otter, salmon, marsh fritillary butterfly, dolphin, common seal, and
lesser horseshoe bat. Once again Dr Foss will be arguing for more to be
done.
____________________________________
Irish Peatland Conservation Council
119 Capel Street
Dublin 1
Ireland

Tel & Fax +353-1-8722397
Tel +353-1-8722384
e-mail: bogs@ipcc.ie
web: www.ipcc.ie

Action for Bogs & Wildlife

ends