Ireland's longest living species, the pearl mussel, is facing extinction along with many others, including six varieties of bumblebee, because their habitats have altered so drastically over the past 30 years.
According to a report released by the Heritage Council to mark World Biodiversity Day yesterday, Ireland will fail to meet its targets to halt the decline in biological diversity by 2010 unless new approaches to environmental management are adopted.
It blamed the cumulative impact of unprecedented development, the overuse of nitrate fertilisers by farmers, the removal of native hedgerows and draining of wetlands as well as household and industrial pollution and also some forestry practices.
More than 29 different bird species and 120 species of flowering plants are in serious decline, the council said. It also warned that Ireland will face serious fines under the EU Habitats Directive unless urgent steps are taken to protect these endangered species.
Ireland is one of the last places in Europe where the pearl mussel, Margaritifera margaritifera, survives. This mussel, which can live for 120 years, is facing extinction in all rivers surveyed where previously healthy populations of the species survived.
The pearl mussel is protected in Ireland under the Wildlife Act 2000 and by the EU Habitats Directive but recent research on nine rivers where it was once plentiful show that it is facing extinction in all nine rivers due to deteriorating water quality.
"Most of the living pearl mussels are now over 100 years old and were born before Irish independence," the Heritage Council said. "The younger pearl mussels have not survived because of deteriorating water quality caused by river pollution and siltation."
The Derry River, for example, had a scattered population of pearl mussels at its lower end in 1990. However, the most recent survey in 2004 found only one living mussel, mainly because phosphate and nitrogen levels had risen beyond sustainable levels.
Threats found in other rivers included erosion of river banks from cattle trampling, quad biking and woodland clearance; sedimentation and habitat loss from dredging, quarrying, road building, and pollution from agriculture, forestry, meat processing and sewage.
Bumblebees are also facing extinction, mainly because of changes in farming practices and the increasing use of pesticides. Others in danger include the barn owls, golden plovers, corncrakes, waxcaps (fungi), marsh fritillary butterflies and green-winged orchids.
"The situation is serious because we are all part of the intricate web of nature," said Liam Lysaght, Natural Heritage Officer with the Heritage Council. "When we lose one species, others go into decline and eventually it will affect people."
Although he acknowledged that recent changes to EU farm payments favour a more environmentally friendly approach to land-use, "the changes need to be implemented quickly if many important habitats, on which our wildlife depends, are to survive".
The Heritage Council is calling for an allocation of at least €20 million to fund implementation of the new National Biodiversity Plan 2007 to include a landscape approach to restore habitats for threatened species, with local biodiversity plans for every county.
It wants all local authorities to employ their own biodiversity officers to initiate a consultation process involving all stakeholders as well as a scheme of financial incentives for landowners who provide habitats for endangered species.
The council has recently set up a National Biological Records Centre at Waterford Institute of Technology to make essential information available to policy makers and planners, so that biodiversity needs are taken into account.
