Proposals to rewet and rewild Irish farmed peatlands and hills are legally and scientifically unsound, the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) has warned.
In a challenge to the EU’s Nature Restoration Law, which could see some 300,000ha of drained peatlands rewet, INHFA president Vincent Roddy claimed it will create a “legal double-bind” for farmers.
Roddy said the proposals detailed in the plan could “undermine farming activity across our hills and leave them ineligible for CAP payments”.
Science ‘far from final’
The INHFA president maintained that the science around rewetting is “far from final”.
Under EU Nature Restoration Law, some 300,000ha of drained peatlands could be rewet. \ David Ruffles
He warned that while there could be a “major carbon windfall through the reduction of emissions from the rewetting of drained peatlands”, there is a “major drawback in terms of methane released”.
Roddy highlighted evidence in an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) research report which he said “confirmed that under certain scenarios any benefit obtained through reducing carbon emissions was offset by the release of methane that would continue for centuries after the rewetting process”.
He said it is “vital that that [rewetting] science is relevant to the country and land type”.
The science behind rewetting proposals is far from final, says INHFA. \ Clive Wasson
“Currently the science used to support rewetting on farmland is based on international studies and here in Ireland, science based on the rewetting of cutaway peatland that doesn’t have the buildup of organic material like drained peatland has,” he said.
Call for a pause
The INHFA is calling for a pause in the progression of rewetting “until we get the findings from the scientific studies currently being conducted in Ireland on our farmed peatlands”.
“The findings from these studies are possibly two years away but could provide a valuable counterbalance to the existing view around the management of these lands,” Roddy added.
INHFA president Vincent Roddy. \ Philip Doyle
When it comes to the rewilding of the hills, the INHFA president pointed to elements of the EU Nature Restoration Law which use the “exact same language detailed in the EU Biodiversity Strategy to describe a new designation type called Strictly Protected”.
“This designation is at a level above the Serengeti National Park in Africa and where applied will see all human activity cease,” he warned.
Rewilding the hills will threathen family farms, says the INHFA. \ CJ Nash
Roddy maintained that the nature restoration proposal threatens the economic viability of thousands of farm families and rural communities.
He said it is “vital that all legal aspects relating to this are fully explored to ensure they comply with EU law as defined under the Treaty of Rome and all subsequent treaties”.
Read more
Government hypocrisy on rewetting targets slammed
Rewetting science ‘lacks clarity’ for Irish farmers
Proposals to rewet and rewild Irish farmed peatlands and hills are legally and scientifically unsound, the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) has warned.
In a challenge to the EU’s Nature Restoration Law, which could see some 300,000ha of drained peatlands rewet, INHFA president Vincent Roddy claimed it will create a “legal double-bind” for farmers.
Roddy said the proposals detailed in the plan could “undermine farming activity across our hills and leave them ineligible for CAP payments”.
Science ‘far from final’
The INHFA president maintained that the science around rewetting is “far from final”.
Under EU Nature Restoration Law, some 300,000ha of drained peatlands could be rewet. \ David Ruffles
He warned that while there could be a “major carbon windfall through the reduction of emissions from the rewetting of drained peatlands”, there is a “major drawback in terms of methane released”.
Roddy highlighted evidence in an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) research report which he said “confirmed that under certain scenarios any benefit obtained through reducing carbon emissions was offset by the release of methane that would continue for centuries after the rewetting process”.
He said it is “vital that that [rewetting] science is relevant to the country and land type”.
The science behind rewetting proposals is far from final, says INHFA. \ Clive Wasson
“Currently the science used to support rewetting on farmland is based on international studies and here in Ireland, science based on the rewetting of cutaway peatland that doesn’t have the buildup of organic material like drained peatland has,” he said.
Call for a pause
The INHFA is calling for a pause in the progression of rewetting “until we get the findings from the scientific studies currently being conducted in Ireland on our farmed peatlands”.
“The findings from these studies are possibly two years away but could provide a valuable counterbalance to the existing view around the management of these lands,” Roddy added.
INHFA president Vincent Roddy. \ Philip Doyle
When it comes to the rewilding of the hills, the INHFA president pointed to elements of the EU Nature Restoration Law which use the “exact same language detailed in the EU Biodiversity Strategy to describe a new designation type called Strictly Protected”.
“This designation is at a level above the Serengeti National Park in Africa and where applied will see all human activity cease,” he warned.
Rewilding the hills will threathen family farms, says the INHFA. \ CJ Nash
Roddy maintained that the nature restoration proposal threatens the economic viability of thousands of farm families and rural communities.
He said it is “vital that all legal aspects relating to this are fully explored to ensure they comply with EU law as defined under the Treaty of Rome and all subsequent treaties”.
Read more
Government hypocrisy on rewetting targets slammed
Rewetting science ‘lacks clarity’ for Irish farmers
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: