This article is from page 18 of the 2011-11-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
MORE than 20 per cent of the limestone pavement of the Burren is now covered in scrub, with more hazel encroachment taking place each year. While the scrub explosion is only one of the threats to the biodiversity of the Burren, it has become a rallying point for Burren management, both because visual impact of scrub encroachment but also because of the direct correlation between new farming techniques and spread of hazel.
Farming in the Burren Farming for Conservation Programme now actively manage more than 50,000 acres of land n the Burren. Scrub is kept under control by encouraging cattle and goats to use the old winterage area of the Burren, instead of being housed inside during the winter.
While outside in the dry limestone winterage, the animals eat the young hazel saplings and prevent the bushes from becoming established on the limestone pavement.
“It doesn’t really pay farmers to graze these areas anymore. There is too much work and labour involved in making these areas suitable for grazing. That is what has happened over the last 20 or 30 years, a lot of the upland areas are not being grazed anymore – and that is where we find all the wonderful monuments and the flora,” said Brendan Dunford of the Burren Farming for Conservation Organisation.
“So what we are paying for is good management of non-profitable areas. And there is a cost for this, over and above what the farmer will make back. So what we make sure is that payments are only made when the land is managed properly. If the farmer isn’t bothered then he won’t be paid, but if a farmer is willing to go that extra mile then we are happy to pay for it – because in the long term for the future of the Burren it is incredibly cost effective.
“We are an environmental scheme so our focus is on delivering environmental aims such as good water, biodiversity and good landscape. But the only way that we can achieve that is to try and continue the old farm practices, which were dying out in some areas. So the farmers are absolutely key to the future of the Burren.
“Farmers are a part of the social fabric and the spirit of the area but they are absolutely key in managing the Burren environment. The farmers have the skills, the motiva- tion and the know-how to make this work. The farmers are also the first people who will benefit if this works, not the environmentalist or the tourists,” said Mr Dunford.
“We see ourselves not as saving farming in the Burren but just adding an extra impetus on the ecological side of things. We feel that the production of food is still important and farmers will still benefit from the Single Farm Payment but hopefully what we are doing is helping to put some confidence and relevance back into farming. Farming is about producing food but it is also about managing environments.”