PRESS RELEASE: 31st March 2016
Proclamation for Ireland’s Blanket Bog
Seven years after the release of Ireland’s Peatland Conservation Action Plan 2020, and with a new Government in the making, the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) are taking stock of the major successes and failings of peatland management across Ireland. The Action Plan listed 129 actions necessary to ensure the conservation of a representative portion of Irish peatlands for future generations to enjoy – a Proclamation for Ireland’s Blanket Bog. Achieving these actions is the key driver of the organisation, a national environmental NGO who have been spearheading the campaign to save Irish bogs since 1982.
In reviewing the actions IPCC found significant success stories coupled with worrying failures. IPCC Conservation Officer Tadhg Ó Corcora highlights the Government set up of the Peatlands Council, the Raised Bog Steering Committee and production of a National Peatlands Strategy as the major achievements since 2009. “A National Peatlands Strategy has been a particular priority for IPCC since its inception over 30 years ago” he said. There have also been positive achievements on restoring degraded peatlands across Ireland, certainly by the IPCC themselves but also by a number of other national, local and community organisations.
One area which requires significantly more work if failure is to be turned into success is that of blanket bog conservation right across the country. Ireland has done much work on raised bogs in the last number of years and now is the time to shift focus to the significant issues facing blanket bogs and upland areas. Turbary, mechanical cutting, overgrazing, land reclamation, burning, erosion and forestry have resulted in a staggering loss of 650,000ha of the original area of blanket bog in Ireland. “With 8% of the global area of blanket bog occurring in Ireland, we are an important international location for this habitat. Why then do we allow destructive practices to continue, many unregulated as we sit back and do nothing” Ó Corcora added.
IPCC have already shifted a number of their priority policies to bridge this gap and are proposing significant lobbying and advocacy campaigns to ensure that blanket bogs are highlighted as a national issue. It is important that policy makers and local communities take ownership of these habitats to ensure the preservation of the unique biodiversity that blanket bogs support for future generations.
ENDS
For further details, information, pictures or interviews, please telephone: 045-860133 and ask for Tadhg Ó Corcora, Conservation Officer or email bogs@ipcc.ie