News & Events
- 24/07/2008
- Summer Field Trips Continue - 10th August 2008
- 17/07/2008
- Farm Demo Day - Fri July 18 2008 - 17.00 hrs
- 29/06/2008
- 1st Summer Field Trip - 6 July 2008
- 10/06/2008
- Change in Line-Up of Talks - Doolin June 2008
- 27/05/2008
- Free Talks on the Burren in Doolin – June 2008
- 27/05/2008
- Clodagh McKenna Praises Burren Group
- 01/05/2008
- BLP Conference Feb 2008 - Technical Report
- 01/05/2008
- Burren Vets Workshop Report
- 01/05/2008
- May 3rd 2008 - Burren Beef & Lamb in Ballyvaughan Farmers Market
- 19/12/2007
- Annual Newsletter Available for Download
Background to the BurrenLIFE Project
The Burren is one of the most important and best-known landscapes in Europe due to the wealth and diversity of its natural and cultural heritage. As a result, much of the Burren has been designated as part of the Natura 2000 Network under the EU Habitats Directive. Five Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) covering 47,000ha have been designated: Galway Bay Complex, Ballyvaughan Turlough, The East Burren Complex, Black Head-Poulsallagh Complex and Moneen Mountain. The latter three are the focus of the BurrenLIFE Project. They contain a variety of habitats, including limestone pavements, grasslands, limestone heaths and hazel scrub. Many of these habitats, e.g. limestone pavements, orchid-rich grasslands and turloughs are priority habitats under the Habitats Directive and are accorded the highest level of protection.
The spectacular Burren landscape has been shaped by the elements and by the hand of man for thousands of years. The legacy of this relationship extends far beyond the innumerable cultural features present. Intensive exploitation of the landscape by generations of farmers and their livestock has ensured that vast expanses of limestone pavements have remained free of scrub. Recent research has shown that traditional pastoral systems, in particular the reverse-transhumance 'winter grazing' regime, are integral to ensuring the presence of over 70% of Ireland's native flora in the region, including a number of rare and very localised species, and a rich fauna. Despite the barren appearance of the Burren landscape it is an important agricultural resource, one with a long and proud tradition of human use. However, recent years have seen the withdrawal, restructuring or reduction of farming activity from a region now viewed as 'marginal' from an agricultural perspective. This has led to the degradation of habitats through changes in grazing regimes, expansion of scrub, land abandonment and the loss of important land management practices. Under the Habitats Directive, Ireland is obliged to maintain the listed habitats in the Burren in 'favourable conservation status'. Consequently, alternative landuse practices have to be examined and introduced in order to ensure that these habitats are not lost.
Recent CAP reform and the arrival of the single farm payment system may accelerate the withdrawal of farming activity, but may also facilitate a move away from the prevailing production-driven mentality towards a more multifunctional approach to land use that incorporates concepts such as 'farming for conservation'. To ensure that this opportunity is seized upon will require the research and development of a new, integrated, system for the agricultural management of the Burren, one that will secure a bright future for its people and their heritage.
BurrenLIFE, Carron, Co. Clare, Ireland.
Tel: +353 (0)65 708 9000 Email: info@burrenlife.com
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