burren LIFE

The Burren

The Burren (from the Gaelic word Boireann or 'rocky place') is located along the western Atlantic coastline of Ireland, between the counties of Clare and Galway. Though difficult to determine its exact extent, it is estimated that there are c.36,000ha of terraced limestone hills in the Burren upland region, with a further 20,000ha of low-lying pavement dominated habitats in the Burren lowland region to the east. In addition, the Aran Islands, situated just off the Burren's west coast, are considered to be a natural extension of the Burren, and share many of the same natural and cultural attributes.

It is one of the most important and best-known landscapes in Europe. It is a unique place. Though it represents less than 1% of Ireland's land cover, the richness and diversity of the natural and cultural heritage present belies its compact size. Not only is it a landscape of outstanding beauty but also one of great interest due to the wealth of its natural and cultural heritage. The Burren is probably most famous for its flowers - three-quarters of all of Ireland's native flowers are found here including most of the Irish orchid species. In turn, these flowers support a large number of insects such as butterflies and moths. In terms of its geology, the Burren is generally considered to be one of the finest examples of a glaciated karst landscape in Europe. The cultural wealth is equally stunning, aptly described as 'one vast memorial to bygone cultures'. The palimpsest (or layer upon layer) of archaeological features present, extending back almost 6,000 years to the famous Poulnabrone dolmen (one of over 80 Neolithic tombs in the region), are stark testament to Millennia of unbroken human settlement. The Burren is a landscape closely attuned to human activity, enlivened by human presence, but threatened by both human neglect and excess.

As a result, much of the Burren has been designated for conservation under the 1992 EU Habitats Directive. In total, five Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) covering 47,000ha have been designated. Three of these the East Burren Complex, the Black Head-Poulsallagh Complex and Moneen Mountain are the focus of the BurrenLIFE Project. These areas of the Burren, on which the work of the BurrenLIFE Project will take place over the next 5 years, contain a range of very important geological features: cave networks, seasonally appearing lakes known as 'turloughs', glacial 'erratics' shaped by glaciers and dropped on the land when the ice retreated and some of the best and most extensive limestone pavements anywhere in the world. They also contain a huge number of monuments - from wedge tombs, dolmens and forts, to more recent stone houses and animal enclosures. The grasslands are host to 23 of the 27 native orchid species found in Ireland. Many of these Burren habitats, such as limestone pavement, orchid-rich limestone grasslands and turloughs are priority habitats under the Habitats Directive and are accorded the highest level of protection.

Most of what is valued in the Burren has been shaped by the elements and by thousands of years of farming activity. Thus, to protect the Burren, the best way is to continue farming. Modern farming, however, is not always good for the Burren. Traditional farming is no longer sustainable. Many farmers have left the land. The lack of once plentiful farm labour and time for cattle herding, with more and more farmers working off-farm, has resulted in degradation of habitats through changes in grazing levels, 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, different landuse practices have to be examined and introduced in order to ensure that these habitats are not lost. This will be the work focus of the BurrenLIFE Project over the next five years.