P r e s s R e l e a s e

Conservation Strategy for the Bogs of Ireland Published

For release June 16th 1998

Proceedings of the Peatlands 2000 Conference held in Dublin last November have been published. Towards a Conservation Strategy for the Bogs of Ireland has been compiled by the Irish Peatland Conservation Council and will be of interest to conservationists, environmentalists and academics.

The Conference brought together prominent international scientists with a knowledge of natural and developed peatland systems to work towards developing a conservation strategy for the bogs of Ireland with the support of all interest groups. The consensus reached was that there is still much to be done to protect raised bogs for the future and this will require real commitment from the government.

All 24 papers in this 250-page publication are concerned with the different aspects of peatlands, their biodiversity, archaeological importance, restoration and management and their sustainable use for agriculture, tourism and education. The book includes an introductory section which sets the value of peatlands in the international and national context.

The proceedings will be distributed to all those involved in devising a nature strategy for Ireland, and in particular to Government personnel in the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands with the responsibility for nature conservation in Ireland. They will be presented to a European meeting on the implementation of the Habitats Directive this Summer to highlight the importance of Ireland as a centre for conserving raised bogs. 51% of the global resource of oceanic raised bog is found in Ireland.

The publication retails at £20 and is available from the IPCC at 119 Capel Street, Dublin 1. Tel: 01 872 2397.

The Peatlands 2000 Conference was supported by the following: Batchelors Limited, Blooms Hotel, City Jet, Coillte Teoranta, Doyle Hotel Group, ENFO, Department of the Environment Dublin, Environment and Heritage Service, Department of Environment Northern Ireland, FAS Community Employment & the European Union, Flogas Ireland Ltd, The Forest Service of the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources and the European Union, Fyffes plc, Galway County Council, Klee Paper, Land Rover Ireland, Laois County Council, Minteq Europe Ltd., Offaly County Council, Roscommon County Council, Royal Netherlands Embassy, The Shelbourne, Dublin, Wicklow, County Council, World Wide Fund for Nature - United Kingdom and IPCC Friends of the Bog.

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