The Government has approved a multi-agency hen harrier action plan to address its dwindling population in the country, a spokesperson for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has confirmed.
The Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan was developed by an inter-departmental steering group chaired by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) in response to the rapid decline of the specie, which is currently facing extinction.
The NPWS, which is responsible for the action plan’s implementation, collaborated with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications on the plan.
A public consultation had been launched on a draft Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan earlier this year and all submissions and observations received were considered in the finalisation of the plan.
This plan is now expected to be published in the coming months, according to the Department of Housing spokesperson.
Hen harrier plan
The draft plan was initially commissioned after the 2022 National Hen Harrier Survey, estimated that the breeding population was in the region of between 85 to 106 pairs, which compared to a 21% decline from the previous survey conducted in 2015.
Due to the critical threat facing the bird, the hen harrier was flagged under the EU Birds Directive which assigned conservation responsibilities to the Irish government.
Consequently, six Special Protections Areas (SPAs) were designated to safeguard the hen harrier’s natural habitats as well as a further two for wintering populations, most of which primarily exist within the Munster area.
The draft Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan for public consultation identified that the “primary potential threats and pressures” to breeding hen harrier, was primarily due to the loss of suitable habitat through afforestation, forest maturation, agricultural reclamation and intensification, and wind energy development.
The plan also highlighted that lightly grazed heath or bog, with some scrub, is the most suitable habitat for nesting hen harrier and that hedgerows are also important to enable the birds to forage throughout the year.
According to the Department of Housing spokesperson the finalised plan “recognises that that landowners who depend on the land within hen harrier SPAs for their livelihood, and upon whom the hen harrier depends for its habitat, must be supported and incentivised to engage in hen harrier conservation”.
Recommendations
In 2015 the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine (JOC) published a report on the “Designation of Lands as SPAs for the Conservation of Breeding Hen Harriers”.
This report contained 18 recommendations and many of these were incorporated into actions in the draft Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan.
Specifically in relation to agriculture these included monitoring the effectiveness of the new rules in ensuring landscape features – that are typically beneficial for hen harrier – are supported throughout the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan 2023-27.
It also recommended continuing engagement and communication with farmers – through farm advisors – on the year-round ecological needs of hen harrier for nesting, roosting and foraging.
According to the Oireachtas report the current Agri-Climate Rural Environment
Scheme (ACRES) – and in particular the Co-operation Projects within defined high priority geographical areas – is a significant scheme that can deliver “positive impacts” for the hen harrier population level.