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OTTER AND SALMON UNPROTECTED - Irish Wildlife NGO's Highlight Gaps in European Nature Designation

For Release 31 August 1999

Ireland's five leading wildlife conservation NGOs [non-Government Organizations] today released an interim draft of "The Great SAC Race", a joint study grant funded by the Heritage Council. The release is timed to coincide with the Natura 2000 Meeting on the Atlantic Region organised by the European Union's Nature Topic Center which will examine the state of SAC designation accross the region. The conference is to be held from September 6 to 8th in Kilkee, County Clare.

"Ireland is being prosecuted under European law for the failure to designate Special Areas of Conservation within the legal timelines. We find that not only is the coverage of many habitats inadequate to date, but specific critical species listed in the Directive have been entirely ignored.

The Group has recommended to Minister de Valera the designation 46 sites to protect the otter and 22 sites for the salmon, all omitted from the Government lists to date. "We have an obligation under the Directive to list the sites of these priority species, regardless of any national legislation", a spokesman for the Group stated.

Their study, entitled "The Great SAC Race" lists a further 201 sites recommended for inclusion, including nine habitats types from bogs to sand dunes.

The group, which is due to publish its final report under the Heritage Council Wildlife Grant Scheme on 9 December, has expressed the hope that the imminent completion of the listing process will result in "better balanced and more complete adherence to the obligations of the European legislation."

More: Sand Dunes - Karen Dubsky (Coastwatch Europe) 055 25843 Bogs - Peter Foss (Irish Peatland Conservation Council) 01-872-2384 Otter - Shirley Clerkin (Irish Wildlife Trust) 01-676-8588 Salmon - Tony Lowes (An Taisce) 027 73025 Birds - Jackie Hunt (Birdwatch Ireland) 01-280-4322

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