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The new designation of “strict protection” in the European Commission’s biodiversity strategy will “sterilise everything making it impossible to secure planning for dwelling houses or any further farm development,” according to the Irish Natura & Hill Farmers Association (INHFA).
The strategy proposes that significant areas of carbon-rich ecosystems, such as peatlands, grasslands, wetlands, mangroves and seagrass meadows – some 10% of EU land – should be strictly protected.
The European Commission has announced this does not necessarily mean the area is not accessible to humans, but leaves natural processes essentially undisturbed to respect the areas’ ecological requirements.
“This new designation will be applied on our bogs and peatlands including drained peatlands that may have got EEC [European Economic Community] grant aid to drain them in the 1970s and 1980s,” INHFA president Colm O’Donnell said.
O'Donnell added that the process to start delivering on this is “already under way through GAEC 2 [Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition] of the CAP Strategic Plan that outlines details on how these peatlands can be restored”.
Irish peatlands
In relation to overall land area, Ireland has a very high percentage of peatlands (over 20%) comparable to other EU countries and it is quite probable that all of these lands will be covered by this designation.
“For counties throughout Connacht, Donegal and Kerry the percentage land area will be much higher than 20%,” O'Donnell said.
Impact
O’Donnell continued: “This designation will sterilise everything making, it impossible to secure planning for dwelling houses or any further farm development.
“New business start-ups in these areas will cease and over time we will see many existing businesses being forced to close.
“Improvements to our roads and other vital infrastructure will slow down and in time cease and all of this will of course have knock-on effects in the provision of essential services and where applied will accelerate a major population decline,” he said.
Marian Harkin, TD and former MEP, has said that the EU’s biodiversity strategy presents a huge challenge to the future of food production on up to three out of every 10ha in Ireland.
“I think most people recognise the absolute need to stem biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse and indeed to reverse that loss. Biodiversity is essential for sustainable food production and for our food security and our ecosystems are part of the essential web that supports human life," Harki said.
“However, the EU's biodiversity strategy, which has as its foundation the requirement that 30% of the land and sea area should be protected, is a huge challenge for agriculture and food production in Ireland."
Costs for farmers
Harkin said that at this point in time, about 16% of land in Ireland is protected under EU legislation, which in reality means that 36 actions, ranging from fencing to digging a drain need to be approved.
“This is on top of all other requirements under agricultural and environmental legislation and it represents a significant financial cost to farmers, a significant compliance cost, as well as devaluing the sale price of their designated lands.
“If Ireland had to increase its protected areas to 30%, it would almost double the land already protected and represent an area the size of the entire province of Connacht, plus half of county Cork. Even if we only increased the protected area to 25%, it would still be an area the size of Connacht.
“Included in the 30% protected area, the EU requires that one third of that area, i.e. 10% is strictly protected. This is an extremely high level of protection, where even human visitation to the land area is controlled.
“In Ireland, our grasslands, reclaimed wetlands and peatlands would be part of the 10% that is strictly protected. The reason that it is especially difficult for Ireland, is that we have the highest level of peatlands in Europe and we have a settlement pattern that is almost unique, where many people live in rural areas,” she said.
Protecting BPS
Harkin said the proposed restrictions on land use are in themselves a huge challenge, but allied to that, there is a the requirement of GAEC 2 within the CAP legislation.
The payment of the Basic Payment Scheme is conditional on attaining the GAEC 2 requirement which is "appropriate protection of wetland and peatland", she said.
“In simple language this means that for any farmer to receive just the basic payment, they must ensure appropriate protection of wetland and peatland and if that land is already designated, it sets the bar way too high for that farmer.
“If, on the other hand, a farmer could access payments through eco-schemes and rural development programmes, then he/she would be paid for protecting this carbon rich soil. It is therefore essential that the requirement for the Basic Payment Scheme is changed from appropriate protection to maintaining and management.
“This would allow a farmer freedom to farm in a sustainable way and incentivise higher levels of protection under rural development programmes,” she said.
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