This article is from page 56 of the 2009-11-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 56 JPG
THE people of Clare are willing to pay for the long-term sustainability of some of the county’s most under threat natural environments.
According to anew survey commis- sioned by the Carron-based Burren- LIFE project, which was presented at the organisation’s seminar in Gort yesterday, it is estimated that the public was willing to pay farmers as much as €842 per hectare if it meant the protection of the biodiversity of the Burren.
“Using internationally recognised researched methods, we have been able to show that the Irish taxpayer
is willing to pay farmers to continue to deliver these services,” said head researcher Tom van Rensburg.
“This is a really interesting find- ing at a time when the national REP Scheme has been closed to new en- Wee D ea
The research also showed that the farming for conservation methods practiced as part of the BurrenLIFE’s method would improve water quality in the area.
The research found that many farm fields in the study did not have nutrient inputs that exceed the re- quirements of the animals and grass erowth. Areas at risk are those sub- ject to point sources of contamina-
tion, such as round feeders for silage, animals having access to streams and springs.
Other findings presented yesterday include those of Dr James Moran of Sligo IT who, together with Teagasc officials, developed a tailored feed- ing system using [rish-sourced GM- free ingredients to sustain cattle on Burren hills over the winter.
BurrenLIFE’s Dr Sharon Parr showcased some of the initial find- ings of the BLP’s ecological moni- toring work. This work indicated that grazing can help increase biodiver- sity of limestone grasslands but that scrub encroachment remains a major problem in the Burren, one that will
require direct intervention.
“Burren farmers are piloting a farm- ing system which has significantly increased their household income level through on-farm conservation measures including the maintenance of dry-stone walls, scrub removal work and the development of ‘con- servation grade’ Burren beef and lamb,’ said Ruairi O Conchuir of the BurrenLIFE Project.
The pilot phase of the EC LIFE Nature funded project is scheduled to finish in January 2010. Funding has been allocated for the roll-out of conservation farming in the area but no additional funding has been al- located as an operational budget for
BurrenLIFE.
“We can show that the Burren- LIFE model of farming can help increase biodiversity on our farms while maintaining animal health, water quality and farmer income,” said BurrenLIFE Project Manager, Brendan Dunford.
“What’s more, we know the costs involved in this and we now know that society is willing to meet these costs as they generate significant public benefits.”