Burren Celebrates EU Conservation Prize

Ireland has won a prestigious award for the BurrenLIFE Project ‘Farming for Conservation in the Burren’.

The BurrenLIFE Project worked with farmers, scientists and conservationists to develop a new model for farming the Burren in an environmentally friendly way that protects the habitats, flora, fauna and archaeological heritage, while ensuring that the farmers maintain a livelihood.

This Project has been selected by the Member States of the European Union as among the top six “Best of Best” LIFE Nature projects out of 59 projects assessed in 2010.

Jimmy Deenihan, T.D., the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht said: “This is the highest level of international recognition that it is possible for a LIFE Nature project to achieve within the EU LIFE Programme and a great honour for the country.

“It is also of great credit to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my Department,

who initiated the Project, the Project partners - Teagasc and the Burren IFA - and the BurrenLIFE team who so successfully steered the five year Project. It is also recognition of the involvement, help, assistance and enthusiasm provided by the Burren farmers who participated in the Project.”

The methods developed on the 20 farms participating in the Project are now being implemented on over 100 farms in a new partnership - the Burren Farming for Conservation Programme - with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. As a result, nearly 13,000ha of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) in the Burren are being managed to improve their conservation status.

Minister Deenihan went on to say he was also delighted to note “that another LIFE Project, administered by Coillte with contributions from NPWS, entitled ‘Restoring Priority Woodland Habitats in Ireland’, is also listed among the top six. This Project has led to the restoration of 550ha of priority native woodland SACs across nine separate sites.”

(BMcN)