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Boleybrack Mountain SAC in County Leitrim is one of the most intact, wild expanses of upland blanket bog left in Ireland. It comprises a rich diversity of habitats, and is dominated by active mountain blanket bog and wet heath. Active mountain blanket bog is listed as a priority habitat on the EU Habitats Directive, which means that this habitat is threatened in the European context and that Ireland has an international responsibility to conserve it adequately. However, the granting of permission by Leitrim County Council for two separate windfarms within this SAC does not bode well for the long-term conservation of this important site and the habitats and species it supports.
IPCC has appealed this decision to An Bord Pleanála based on a number of issues, not least being the incompatibility of windfarm developments with the conservation importance of this site. The IPCC is disappointed that the National Parks and Wildlife Service have not fulfilled their duty in ensuring that this designated Special Area of Conservation is protected from damaging activities.
Windfarms are not compatible with the conservation of this site. The windfarms would include the digging of foundation pits for 39 turbines and the building of access and maintenance roads, within the SAC. These would be damaging to the sensitive peatland habitats and the species they support as well as to the upland landscape.
Blanket bogs are sensitive to bog bursts and peat slippage, as has been evident in recent months when a series of bog slides occurred in Ireland. Only three months ago, there was a major peat slippage in the Slieve Aughty Mountains at Derrybrien in County Galway. It occurred in an area of upland blanket bog where a windfarm was being developed. The reports on the investigation into the causes of this slippage have not been published yet, but it seems dangerous to allow a windfarm development in similar terrain in County Leitrim.
There is no doubt that windfarm developments are a welcome alternative to the burning of fossil fuels. However, the IPCC strongly opposes these developments if they are proposed within environmentally sensitive areas. The development of windfarms in Ireland is obviously a step in the right direction, but we have to be sure that they are not damaging to our environment.
The fact that both Leitrim County Council and the NPWS seem to be ignoring their responsibilities to protect this internationally important conservation area leaves IPCC with no option but to appeal to An Bord Pleanála to refuse permission for these two windfarms.
For more information:www.ipcc.iebogs@ipcc.ie__________________
The aim of the Wet Woods Restoration Project was to restore areas of bog woodland and floodplain woodland at five sites in Scotland. The Project was set up by the Caledonian Partnership, an innovative partnership of non-governmental conservation organisations and government forestry, conservation and research agencies, all with a wide experience of native woodland restoration.
These sites are located on or adjacent to five areas selected as candidate Special Areas of Conservation (cSACs) under the EC Habitats Directive. When fully designated, SACs will become part of the Natura network of sites, designed to conserve natural habitats and species that are rare, endangered, or vulnerable across the European Community.
The broad aim of the Project encompasses several objectives:
- To restore significant areas of wet wood habitat on or adjacent to sites that are candidate Special Areas of Conservation to a more favourable condition.
- To undertake scientific research to inform restoration, management and monitoring plans for wet wood habitats.
- To disseminate the information gained throughout the project via the existing network of partner institutions in order to demonstrate and promote an integrated approach to the conservation of wet woodlands.
- To support the ongoing work of developing partnerships between public agencies and private landowners.
The five areas include the Lower River Spey, located in north east Scotland, the Conon Islands at the mouth of the River Conon in the north east of Scotland, Pitmaduthy Moss in Easter Ross, northern Scotland, Monadh Mor in northern Scotland, the Cairngorms, in Central Scotland, with the Abernethy and Inshriach Forests.
For more information surf to: www.wetwoods.org
The last site in Scotland for both the Bog bush cricket (Metrioptera brachyptera) and Sorrel pigmy moth (Enteucha acetosae) is a small, cut-over remnant of a once-larger raised bog complex close to the town of Dalbeattie. The remarkable thing about the Aucheninnes Moss is that it continues to support both these species despite its past history of human impact. The site, on first appearance, seems to be little more than a Molinia caerulea sward mixed with patches of Betula pubescens. Look more closely beneath the Molinia and Betula, however, and you will find small remnants of the original raised bog dome surrounded by peat cuttings that are rich in Sphagnum. The raised fragments lie only a little way above these regenerating cuttings, and support a mix of typical peat-forming Sphagnum species, while the cuttings contain extensive swards of Sphagnum papillosum and S. recurvum. In other words, the site is demonstrating the sort of vigorous re-growth associated with a recovering peatland system. Given appropriate management, it would seem reasonable to expect that the area could continue to support the rare invertebrate assemblage - except that planning permission has just been given for a landfill site to be extended across much of Aucheninnes Moss. The Invertebrate Conservation Charity “Buglife” has been fighting to protect the site from this development for some time, and now it has gained substantial support from members of the Scottish Parliament, as well as all nature conservation NGOs in Britain. This could become a ‘test-case’ for such damaged peatlands in the UK, and possibly the first practical application of the IMCG/IPS Wise Use Guidelines. It is hard to reconcile the destruction of such a peatland site, with its known conservation interest, with the UK Government’s commitment to the Ramsar GGAP and the Peatland Wise Use Guidelines. See the Buglife website:
http://www.buglife.org.uk/html/project_aucheninnes_moss.htm
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On 24 December 2003 the highest federal court in the Netherlands (“Raad van State”) passed an important decision on ‘de Groote Peel’ peatland in de southern part of the country. In 1986, this wetland received the status of Special Protection Area under the EC-Birds Directive (79/409/EC). Presently, more than 1% of the Northern European population of the Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris) is wintering in and around “de Groote Peel.” To guarantee better protection of the peatland against desiccation, a 2000 meter wide buffer area surrounding the reserve was created in 1990. Within this zone, all drainage and all pumping are prohibited.
High ground water levels in the hydrological buffer zone are not only necessary for protection of the peatland reserve itself but are also important from another perspective. Many wader bird species sleeping in the peatland forage in de agricultural surroundings and depend on pastureland with high ground water levels.
Until 24 December 2003, there were no restrictions on the type of cultivation in the buffer zone. Following the developments of the international agricultural market, crops were changed and the area of flower and tree nurseries increased. The development plan of Asten, one of the municipalities in de buffer area, proposed to allow tree nursery in the buffer area. An appeal against this plan was now successful with ‘de Raad van State’. This highest court has ordered that trees higher than 2,5 metres are absolutely prohibited in the area. Tree nurseries not only destroy the openness necessary for foraging wader birds, but also need a lowered groundwater table. This is conflicting with the protection of de Groote Peel.
This court decision is important for nature protection ruling within the European Union.
For more information: Boena van Noorden:
Noorden-Boena-Cecile@hetnet.nl
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Fossil white peat – slightly humified peatmoss peat – is an important raw material in professional horticulture. As its stocks in Western and Central Europe are nearly depleted, the pressure on pristine bogs in other countries increases. Good alternatives are still absent. Pilot studies have, however, shown that fresh peatmoss has properties that are similar to or even better than those of fossil peat. The cultivation of peatmosses has therefore high potential to replace peat mining and make – on the longer run – the production of horticultural substrates into a sustainable and carbon-neutral activity.
The Agency of Renewable Resources (FNR) in Germany has recognized this potential and has decided to finance the research project “Peat moss as a renewable resource” initiated by the University of Greifswald (Germany) in cooperation with the Soil Technological Institute in Bremen and the German peat industry. During the next three years, two scientists will do laboratory research into optimizing growth conditions for maximal annual crop.
For more information, comments, and suggestions contact Greta Gaudig: gaudig@uni-greifswald.de
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The Belarussian government plans to launch a special peat extraction development programme. The main task of this programme is to increase the peat fuel extraction based on modern and efficient technologies. The peat production programme will be funded by about 15 million USD in 2004.
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New data on the rate of deforestation on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra have confirmed the prediction that, unless action is taken to reverse the decline, Sumatran orangutans are likely to be the first great ape to become extinct in the wild. Prof. Birute Galdikas, President of Orangutan Foundation International, blames accelerating habitat loss caused by forest clear cutting, mainly for palm oil plantations, to be the main problem. Other threats are forest degradation due to illegal logging, fires, and poaching. Currently nearly 1,000 orphan orangutans live in rescue and rehabilitation centers; the whole population amounts to approx. 30,000. According to the WWF, about 80% of the original forest habitats have been destroyed. Proposed actions to save the orangutan include the formation of a scientific commission, better protection of the key populations, the creation of new protected habitats, e.g. the Mawa peat swamp area in Central Kalimantan, redesign of the Ladia Galaska road scheme, and closing of canals in the peat swamps used for floating out illegal logs.
More information can be found at
http://www.orangutannetwork.org and
http://www.orangutan.org
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Readers of the IMCG Newsletter may recall that in 1999 the IMCG became aware of a conservation issue relating to a small peatland site in Japan. The site, called Naka-Ikemi Wetland, lies in a deep basin and contains a peat archive of more than 50 metres in depth dating back at least 65,000 years. The site came to IMCG’s attention when a presentation was made about it at the Global Biodiversity Forum, associated with the 7th Ramsar Conference in Costa Rica in 1999. The site was threatened by the development plans of Osaka Gas Company, who wished to build a storage facility for liquified natural gas (LNG) on most of Naka-Ikemi. A campaign was begun to protect the site by two local housewives who believed that the peatland was valuable and worth retaining. The campaign drew in a wide variety of specialists, some from Japan, others from abroad, and it became increasingly obvious that not only was the site extremely valuable for its peatland archive, but it was also one of the richest sites in Japan for dragonfly species. After intensive campaigning and lobbying (many IMCG members bought dragonfly brooches from the Friends of Naka-Ikemi stand at the Millennium Wetlands Event in Quebec), the campaigners learned in January 2004 that Osaka Gas Company has agreed to hand over the site in its entirety to Tsuruga City as a peatland nature reserve. The story is both astonishing and encouraging in many different ways – that such a small and modified peatland could have generated so much support for its protection, and that such a local campaign could have prevailed against the financial power of such a large Japanese corporation. Congratulations to the Friends of Naka-Ikemi Peatland !
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The Malaysian Meteorological Service (MMS) will be producing daily fire danger maps for the Southeast Asia region.
The Canadian Forest Service (CFS) had begun producing fire danger maps for the Southeast Asia region in January 1996. In response to the transboundary haze disaster of 1997-98, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) requested CFS to establish a technical project transferring Canadian fire danger rating knowledge to collaborators in the SE Asia region. The CIDA-funded project commenced in November 1999. With successful initiatives in place in Indonesia and Malaysia, the project is in its final year.
The new regional fire danger maps can be viewed at the MMS Fire Danger Rating System web site at
www.kjc.gov.my/english/service/climate/fdrs1_x.html
For more information regarding the Southeast Asia FDRS Project visit http://nofc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/seasia
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