Strategic Framework for Future Use of Peatlands
description
Transcript of Strategic Framework for Future Use of Peatlands
Strategic FrameworkforFuture Use of Peatlands
Presentation to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
13 May 2014
1
Current Status of Bord na Mona ‘Land’ Bank
• Total area approximately 80,000 hectares
• Predominantly bog – not mineral land, even when cutaway
• Approximately 130 bogs of various sizes
• Mainly concentrated in Midlands
• Peat areas characterised by:• Scale, complexity and fragmentation• Natural, living environments with
capacity to re-vegetate• Varied depths of peat remaining after
cessation of extraction• Much of area would flood naturally
2
77%
8%
15%
Existing Land Use
3
Production related lands
Oweninny, Co Mayo
Other – Wind Energy, Biodiversity, Amenity/Tourism, Forestry, etc.
Background considerations • Peatlands originally seen as wastelands with potential to be drained for
agricultural use
• Value for industrial development for fuel and horticultural media recognised in late 19th and early 20th centuries – subsequently developed on industrial scale
• Land use potential of cutaway originally seen as highly promising – agriculture, horticulture, forestry, etc. – and was thought to be relatively easy to realize
• Reality is more complex – extensive trials over many decades have shown that economic as well as technical difficulties render use for agriculture and horticulture realistically unviable and potential for forestry is limited
• Recently, there has been a huge growth in recognition of the biodiversity value of peatlands
• Cutaway bogs present a range of complex issues that require to be considered on a bog-by-bog basis.
4
Framework for the Future use of Peatlands
5
Nature ofCutaway
1
Location &Infrastructure
2
Timeframe forPeat Extraction
3
Economics
4
National &Regional Needs
5
LocalConsiderations
8
Legislation &Regulation
6
Land Use PlanningPolicies
7
KEY FINDINGS
PRINCIPLES
OUTCOMES
Land Use Review System Provides for continuous review, assessment andmodification over time
Bord na Mona Land Use Strategy
• The objective of Bord na Móna is to balance and optimise the commercial, social and environmental value of its peatland resources
• Bord na Móna will actively pursue the full potential of its land bank for a variety of appropriate future land uses.
• The land bank will be developed with regard to commercial benefits and the national interest
• Bord na Móna will actively interact with other policy making bodies, such as the regional and local authorities, environmental bodies, etc.
• Cutaway bogs present a range of complex options that require to be considered on a bog-by-bog basis.
6
Land Use and Biodiversity
• Biodiversity is increasingly important nationally and internationally and must have a high priority in considering future land uses
• Biodiversity provides a contribution to wealth and health through ecosystem services and consequently has economic value
• Lands identified as having high biodiversity value and/or priority habitats will be reserved for that purpose as the principal future land use
• Some level of remediation (rehabilitation and/or development) with consequent cost is required for all future land uses.
• Many of the options are compatible and can be co-located, e.g. wind energy / amenity / water storage / biodiversity
7
Land Use Options and some current examples
8
Wind Energy
Amenity and Tourism
High Value Biodiversity
Industry and Infrastructure
Forestry
Mountlucas and Bruckana windfarms
Lough Boora Discovery Park, Co OffalyCommunity Projects
Drehid Resource Recovery Park , Co KildareDerryarkin Sand and Gravel Ltd
Significant areas leased to Coillte
Clonboley Bog GroupKilleglan Bog Group
9
Appendix
Ecosystem Services and Bog Restoration Projects
10
Dry calcareous grassland
Birch scrub
Heather Soft Rush Birch scrub
MarshArrowgrass
Bog Cotton
Bottle Sedge
Reedmace
Baseline ecology survey of cutaway – informing rehabilitation and rewetting potential
11
11
Mapping
11
12
13
13
Bord na Mona Bog Restoration 2009-2014
14
Carbon MeasurementRehabilitated Mayo bogs: carbon sink
Reed-beds: carbon sink?
Are we creating carbon sources or sinks?
Cutaway Bog habitats: birch scrub to open water
Restoration of Moyarwood bog: carbon store and
sink?
15