THE PURCHASE of protected bogs would be more cost-effective than the compensation scheme for turf-cutters devised by two Government departments, a report published yesterday by the Environmental Protection Agency stated.
The report, Bogland: Sustainable management of Peatlands in Ireland, concludes that economic instruments “will not work unless backed by a clear commitment to a cessation of peat cutting” on 55 raised bogs designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs).
Reacting to the latest study, Friends of the Irish Environment said: “We now have wheelbarrows full of reports telling us what is going on and how wrong it is. What we do not have is a single Irish politician who will stand up in public and support the report’s 39 recommendations.”
The report points out: “A cessation of peat cutting has been proposed on only 31 designated raised bogs in the short term, although former ministers have stated that cutting on all designated sites . . . should cease in 2014. It is also clear that Ireland is in breach of the [EU] Habitats Directive.
“Compensation is being promoted to encourage the owners of turbary rights to relinquish these, but has been unsuccessful in achieving high compliance given the absence of a clear Government commitment to a moratorium,” according to lead author Dr Florence Renou-Wilson.
This had been compounded by “prevailing social obligations, the relative high cost of alternative heating fuels and the inadequacy of prevailing compensation levels to overcome perceived property rights” of farmers and cutters.
“Where there is a current illegal disturbance on a protected site, it should be immediately removed by enforcement of the law. This means that the Cessation of Turf Cutting Scheme should be fully implemented on the 55 raised bogs designated as SACs and be given full political back-up.
“As a matter of priority, ‘sausage machine’ cutting should be banned and the ban should be enforced on all protected sites. The cessation of turf cutting on other designated sites [blanket bogs] should be immediately addressed and solutions proposed,” according to the report.
It concedes the social aspects of peat use “are very complex, and solutions will have to consider the cultural attachment to turf cutting” – for example, by permitting “controlled turf cutting on blanket bogs” as a management option, under “strict surveillance”.
It says peat extraction is likely to have affected more than half a million hectares of peatlands, or 85 per cent of Ireland’s original raised bogs, and 45 per cent of the original blanket bogs. Only 10 per cent of raised bogs and 28 per cent of blanket bogs are “deemed suitable for conservation”.
It notes the cost of burning peat “is very high in terms of carbon loss”. A raised bog damaged by domestic peat cutting “emits six to seven times more carbon dioxide than in a near-intact part of the peatland via peat oxidation”.
The report shows peatlands support unusual species, and two new to Ireland were identified – a mite (Limnozetes amnicus) and beetle (Ochthebius nilssoni).
