Major Landowners Sign Nature Deal

Two Irish major landholding entities, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Coillte, have decided to join forces in order to revitalise biodiversity, an initiative devised to help Ireland comply with the new European Union nature restoration regulation (NRR). The state organisations have established an operational framework for the delivery of nature conservation endeavours and for managing their individual estates. The maiden collaborative effort targets improvement of populations of the endangered hen harrier bird species in the Slieve Bloom mountains, situated in the midlands.

The entities are dedicated to conserving, enriching and reinstituting vital ecosystems, along with protection of habitats such as wetlands, heatherlands, and raised and blanket bogs, as well as rivers and lakes. A considerable part of the work will focus on safeguarding species under threat like the merlin, the freshwater pearl mussel, and wading species during their nesting periods.

As a state organisation, the NPWS oversees eight national parks, 74 nature reserves, and various other state lands open to the public. Coillte is the predominant forest owner and landholder within the state, owning over 440,000 hectares, thus constituting one of Ireland’s largest carbon sinks.

At the Ploughing Championships held in Co Laois, Malcolm Noonan, the Minister for Nature and Heritage, mentioned, “This provides an immense opportunity to bring back nature at a broad scale across Ireland. By aligning the efforts of the state agency tasked with the responsibility for biodiversity and Ireland’s State logging company, two of the biggest landholders in Ireland… we are prioritising moves to reinstate nature and fulfill our responsibilities under the EU Birds and Habitats Directives, thereby also delivering for the NRR.”

“Coillte is a huge landholder within the state and is already engaged in pioneering projects and showing strategic leadership regarding nature across its land. The NPWS is excited about this understanding with the company, as it paves the way for substantial future projects and cooperation for nature,” stated Niall Ó Donnchú, the director general of NPWS.

Imelda Hurley, CEO of Coillte, voiced that the goals of the agreement impeccably align with Coillte’s overarching strategy, one that aims to maximize the multifaceted advantages offered by forests; benefits encompassing climate, nature, timber and people.

In the past, Coillte pledged to augment and rejuvenate biodiversity by propelling the proportion of its property mainly managed for nature from 20 to 30 percent by the year 2025. In addition to this, Hurley stated that there have been plans to alter parts of their forests with the aim that, in the future, at least half of their estate is predominantly driven by nature, all whilst continuing to provide sustainably sourced Irish timber.

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