Brexit is bad for wildlife

Brexit will affect more than our economy and borders. According to Dick Warner it will be detrimental to our wildlife too.

In a couple of months UK prime minister Teresa May is scheduled to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and start the process of removing the UK from the EU. The implications for Ireland are worrying but Brexit will also have a considerable impact on Irish wildlife.

Naturally, most of the worry has centred on the economic fallout and the political and social repercussions when the border between the North and the Republic becomes an EU frontier.

Natura 2000 is the EU treaty dealing with wildlife conservation. There seems to be little awareness of it. An EU poll in 2013 indicated only 11% of the population had even heard of it. However, it’s a comprehensive and efficient network of protected sites.

They amount to 18% of the land area of all member states and almost 6% of their inshore waters. Conservationists agree the network of terrestrial sites is virtually complete but there need to be many more marine ones.

The two main types of site are special areas of conservation and special protection areas. The latter are largely concerned with protecting vulnerable migratory birds while the former are more general areas for protecting flora and fauna.

There are 132 special protection areas in the Republic and 420 special areas of conservation, either established or in the pipeline. In Northern Ireland there are 16 special protection areas and 54 special areas of conservation,

Nation states and political frontiers mean nothing to wildlife but the fact that Natura 2000 is centrally co-ordinated allows conservation measures to be carried out in a sensible, joined-up manner.

It also means, and this applies particularly to Ireland, that the interests of landowners and politicians can be trumped by international conservationist interests. Natura 2000 is still a work in progress but it has already brought immense benefits to the wildlife of this island.

However, I assume when the UK leaves the EU it will also cease to be a part of Natura 2000. This leaves a gaping hole in Europe’s conservation strategy. People involved in wildlife protection in the Republic and the North won’t be going to the same conferences and seminars and won’t have the same opportunity to discuss challenges and suggest solutions.

The wildlife in six of the 32 counties faces the prospect of being isolated from the mainstream of European conservation.

Those actively involved in protecting wildlife fall into two main groups — public servants and non-governmental organisation.

Both urgently need to contact their opposite numbers across the border and establish lines of communication so that, while Brexit is progressing, they grow a strong network of alliances that ensures that our birds, animals, wild plants and marine life do not suffer.