Natura 2000 land designations are now becoming a “real threat to rural communities”, the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) has warned.
Following the successful challenge by Friends of the Irish Environment to halt works on a flood relief scheme to protect houses in the Lough Funshinagh area of Roscommon, the INHFA warned of “ongoing consequences for rural communities” as a result of the designations.
Natura 2000 designations, which are predominantly Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protected Areas (SPAs), have traditionally been seen as an issue for those cutting turf and the farming community, the association noted.
However, over the last number of years their impact outside of these two sectors has become more apparent, the farming organisation said.
In discussing this, INHFA’s Brendan Joyce outlined that key infrastructural projects have been delayed and often shelved due to objections and compliance requirements with the Natura 2000 directives.
Elaborating, Joyce said: “We have seen hold-ups on water treatment and waste water treatment plants, leisure and tourist facilities, our ports and our road network.”
“In addition to these infrastructural projects, we are seeing the impact on job creation as witnessed by the refusal to give planning for further development at the Pairce na Mara site in Connemara due to an SAC designation.”
The INHFA representative highlighted that this project had been intended to focus on developing marine-based companies in the area “which could have also provided a major employment boost”.
“The consequences may even be greater for smaller developments and those wanting to build a house. Already we are hearing of planning issues for new dwelling houses that are on Natura sites and within the 15km buffer zone of an SAC or SPA designation.
“Unfortunately, with proposals under the EU Biodiversity Strategy to more than double the area of land designated, our expectation is that this will become a much bigger issue in the coming years.”
In addressing the proposed EU Biodiversity Strategy, Joyce said: “We need to firstly assess the impact of the current designations which account for 13% of our land base.
“Through this assessment we must recognise its impact on landowners and the wider community and address those concerns.
“The idea of driving on with more designations when there is so much resentment to the current designations is a policy that is doomed to fail.”
Highlighting that landowners, farmers and communities are “more than happy to play their part” in protecting habitats, Joyce said:
“As we plan a way forward it is vital that we bring these communities and their people with us.
“The Burren in Clare is a clear example of how important it is to manage these habitats with the help of the local farming community on the ground.”
Concluding, Joyce stated “any policy that undermines local communities is doomed to fail”.
“This is why we are asking Friends of the Irish Environment and all those that want to protect and improve our environment to reassess their approach and engage constructively with the local communities.
“A conciliatory approach such as this can have much better outcomes for the habitats and the people that have helped to create and protect them.”