The following articles appeared in the Longford Leader from October 2007 as part of "How We Live Our Lives" series.

Biodiversity in Ireland "Swans, Snails and Tree Huggers"

Some years ago, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern made a comment on the progress of Ireland 's infrastructure, in particular national motorway schemes. He regarded those that held up these projects with contempt and in his opinion it was all about "swans, snails and the occasional person hanging out of a tree".

The snail that Bertie was referring to was no ordinary common or garden snail. It is known as the whorl snail and it is amongst one of the most endangered species in Europe with the full protection of European conservation laws. It is a tiny snail found in wetlands and its presence in a fen in Co. Kildare was blamed for holding up the M7 Kildare by-pass. At this stage, the media had jumped on the blame the snail game, and the impression was given that the snail was in the path of the motorway. However, the snail was actually 4.5km away from the path of the motorway. So, what was the issue?

The snail is found in one of Ireland 's richest habitats for wildlife - Pollardstown Fen, a peatland habitat that is fed by the calcium rich groundwater from the huge aquifer of the Curragh, Co. Kildare. Professor David Bellamy once described this fen as Ireland 's Amazon for its wealth of biodiversity and its value for plants, insects and birds. It was this fen and its associated wildlife which was the issue at the heart of the objections to the M7. The project eventually got the green light and works involved in its construction involved cutting right into the heart of the Curragh aquifer, thus disrupting the essential flow to the fen. Despite reassurances from engineers and experts that the flow to the fen would be maintained, studies undertaken of this fen since the motorway was completed indicate that things are not okay. The fen is drying out and water levels are falling. One of Ireland 's richest wildlife habitats is dying and there is little that can be done to save it.

Unfortunately, little was learned from the Pollardstown Fen case. Despite very strong legislation and guidelines, Ireland still has a relatively poor record for nature conservation. Environmental NGOs (non governmental organisations) and community groups remain as the watchdogs for nature conservation and limited resources and funding often mean that many cases go unnoticed until it is too late. It is hoped that the Green Environment Minister, Mr John Gormley will incite change in the right direction and recent events such as the designation of conservation areas for hen harriers and the rerouting of a road in Cork away from a conserved woodland, certainly indicate that things are looking up.

Closer to home in Co. Longford, while we can't lay claim to the dramatic landscapes that can be found in Clare or Kerry, we do have fine examples of raised bogs. Longford has a total of 24 sites that have been designated as heritage areas and European conservation sites and ten of these sites are raised bogs. While the economic value of bogs is undisputed, the wildlife of these habitats is also of immense value. Animals such as hares, snipe and red grouse make their homes in these bogs while the carpets of pink heather and white bog cotton colour the landscape beautifully during the summer. Unfortunately, intact raised bogs are becoming increasingly rare and we have already lost over 92% of these bogs to harvesting and peat extraction. The remainder must be protected if we want to avoid complete loss of this habitat - this has already happened in the Netherlands and Sweden while the United Kingdom has lost 98% of its raised bogs.

There is no denying the fact that necessary major infrastructural developments will continue in Ireland over the coming years. However, things need to change and planners and developers need to have greater consideration for our natural heritage. According to the Heritage Council, a statutory body appointed by the Minister for the Environment, levels of knowledge amongst Irish decision makers about heritage and the environment lag behind those of other EU countries and that issues like Pollardstown Fen could have been avoided if the state had a central information unit which could advise on issues of biological importance.

So for now Ireland 's swans and snails are still far from safe. As for the people who hang out of the trees, they should be well able to take care of themselves!

Noreen McLoughlin is a member of LEA and an Environmental and Ecological Consultant. She is also a member of the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management.

LEA

Longford Environmental Alliance

Biodiversity in Ireland "Swans, Snails and Tree Huggers"

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