Forestry turns our mountains into barren moonscape
While broadcasting environmentally-friendly platitudes in public, their rapacious policies are polluting western Lough Corrib and wiping out the ecosystems of a major salmon river, the Owenriff in Co Galway, while threatening its freshwater mussels with extinction.
These policies have also played a major part in the destruction of Lough Leane in Co Kerry and are perhaps the sole cause of the desecration of Lough Carrowmore in Mayo.
Similar environmental carnage by intensive conifer plantations has long been documented in Britain, Scandinavia and Canada.
In Ireland, however, being judge, jury and prosecution in all matters environmental, Coillte, who make considerable yearly profits, simply carry on regardless. Previously state-run, Irish forestry remains state-supported and uses eight per cent of our land supposedly for the benefit of the nation. Faced with widespread environmental destruction, and well aware of similar damage scientifically documented elsewhere, Forestry’s public relations machine still denies any wrongdoing.
The supposed protectors of Ireland’s environment, the EPA, and the Department of the Environment, continue to do what they are best at - nothing.
In Britain, the policy of ripping open poor-soiled mountain bog and planting non-native conifers for individual financial gain was curtailed 10 years ago.
Why? Mountain soil is intrinsically unsuitable for conifer growth, so massive and repeated doses of fertiliser are necessary. This causes widespread waterway pollution.
Untouched since the Ice Age, the broken bog cover immediately releases its toxic iron and aluminium, water acidity rises resulting in all draining waterways becoming virtually lifeless, while still retaining a deceptive crystal-clear clarity. Many of these waters are Ireland’s prime salmon and trout nursery streams.
Evidence from Canada shows forestry chemicals destroy the homing mechanisms of migrating salmon.
After 12 years of growth, the conifers are felled but all involved terrain is simultaneously ripped up. Once-proud mountains are transformed into barren moonscape. The released masses of mud, plus the thousands of tonnes of conifer detritus accumulated over the years, are rain-washed into the draining waterways.
These massive volumes of organic filth pollute not alone the water but suffocate and obliterate all life on the beds of lake, river and stream.
Because it achieves an 11% annual return over 12 years, intensive conifer plantation attracts entrepreneur and pension fund institution alike. The price paid by Ireland’s environment to line the pockets of such speculators has been deliberately under-played. Coillte’s glossy brochures and smooth PR machine can no longer hoodwink the Irish public.
Instead of the ‘green-friendly’ image portrayed by this industry, forestry plantations are environmental sepulchres devoid of virtually all wildlife, save for the spider and the coal-tit.
These plantations permanently destroy the ecology and soil of whatever upland they colonise.
The British Forestry Authority recently admitted that intensive conifer plantations have been an environmental disaster and recommended that they be chopped down and replaced by native forests.
As the various tribunals revealed, much of Ireland’s environment and planning has been dictated by the brown envelope and the backhander rather than robustly protected by enforceable legislation.
To this GUBU state of affairs add the gombeen mentality underpinning our myopic forestry policies and perhaps you’ll understand why our once-proud mountains and waterways continue to be sacrificed on the high altar of Irish forestry.
Dr Roderick D O’Sullivan
8 Devonshire Place
London WIG 6HP
