Pressure on North to protect rare wildlife

The British government faced new demands today to protect areas of wildlife in Northern Ireland amid claims that the conservation of dozens of rare species was threatened.

With the region having the worst record in the UK and Ireland for safeguarding renowned wildlife and geology sites, environmentalists urged the authorities to double the number to 400 by the end of the decade.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is also demanding better monitoring and management of protected sites.

Dr James Robinson, the RSPB’s conservation manager, said: “Northern Ireland currently comes at the bottom of the league table for site protection in the UK.

“We are sitting at 6% of land area protected for wildlife and geology when we should be at 10.

“This is an extremely serious issue when you think about the importance of our natural heritage in maintaining our quality of life and attracting tourists to Northern Ireland.

“It is unacceptable that so little progress has been made on the declaration and protection of ASSIs over the last 20 years.”

Dr Robinson also expressed concern that an RSPB report published almost 15 years ago made exactly the same demands it was making today.

“In the report, the RSPB said that the Environment and Heritage Service needed to declare, monitor and protect all our nationally important sites,” he said.

“The rate of declaration has been extremely slow, with only 17 sites declared over the last two years.

“At this rate, it will take at least 20 years to declare those sites that EHS has estimated require protection.

“We estimate that, in order for them to complete the declaration process by 2010, over 30 sites need to be declared per year between now and then.

“We really want to see EHS succeed in meeting this target.”

The RSPB said the significance of the ASSIs could not be underestimated.

The Copeland Islands ASSI, off the Co Down coast, supports about 2% of the world breeding population of Manx shearwaters.

And, in the autumn, Strangford Lough ASSI, Co Down, is home to almost the entire population of brent geese which migrate from breeding grounds in Arctic Canada.

Insects such as the marsh fritillary and mammals like the otter thrive in the ASSI network.

The extremely rare Irish lady’s tresses orchid and yellow bird’s nest are also among a wealth of plants protected.

But some of these species and their habitats remain threatened because the pockets of land where they remain in the North have yet to be protected by law.

The charity is asking the public to write to politicians and mount local media campaigns to raise awareness around the issue of site protection as part of the Safe and Sound initiative.

It has also produced a pack as a guide to the issues and the actions that can be taken.

For more information about the campaign, visit www.rspb.org.uk/nireland/safeandsound