DoE's environmental blunder spawns widespread criticism

DoE's environmental 'blunder' spawns widespread criticism

Alliance Leader David Ford has said the Department of the Environment can no longer afford to "ignore outside voices" when it comes to identifying special areas of conservation (SACs).

Mr Ford, who sits on the Assembly Agriculture Committee, hit out at the DoE following the European Commission criticism of the DoE for not producing a satisfactory list of areas for protection.

Among the EU criticisms of the report were the failure to include any of the Province's wild salmon spawning rivers as special conservation areas despite the protected status of the species.

Mr Ford said that in future the Department must listen more closely to the committee and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The Alliance leader said: “It must be hugely embarrassing for the DoE to have rejected the recommendations of an outside organisation, only to have to seek their assistance after a rap on the knuckles from the European Commission.

“This clearly demonstrates that real efforts must be made to improve co-operation between the Department, the Assembly committee and NGOs. Each has a valuable contribution to make, and the Department cannot afford to ignore other voices.

“If we are to meet our commitments to our environment, which is our greatest asset here in Northern Ireland, the DoE must begin to take its responsibilities more seriously and start listening.”

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), who claimed that the group had offered assistance to the DoE, submitted a report to the European Commission detailing the fundamental shortcomings of the DoE document.

However, the DOE’s Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) claimed it was "close to agreement with the European Commission over the selection of Special Areas of Conservation in Northern Ireland".

The EHS described recent reports issued by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) of its negotiations with the Commission as "misleading".

Dr John Faulkner, the Director of Natural Heritage in the EHS, said that 43 candidate SACs had been selected in Northern Ireland and submitted to Brussels and these included 54 habitats and species listed in the Directive.

For 51 of these, the Commission is satisfied that there is adequate representation in Northern Ireland.”

He said that the Department had already acknowledged the requirement for one or more salmon sites and was to survey of the Foyle system

The additional sites will be submitted to the Commission towards the end of the year.

“For Northern Ireland, this will be a major achievement in terms of nature conservation and will mean that our internationally important sites will have been fully recognised and be well protected,” Dr Faulkner said.

(SP/MB)