Environmentalists and non-government organisations fear the Environment Committee of the European Parliament could reject the controversial EU Nature Restoration Law when it votes on the matter tomorrow.
The proposed law would set legal requirements for rewetting peatlands and restoring nature. Farm organisations in Ireland say details about the implications of the law are too vague and want it paused so that further consultations can take place.
RTÉ's Environment Correspondent George Lee has been talking to those who will be directly affected by the new law and explains what is involved.
Offaly farmer Pat Walsh says he and his neighbours who live close the Shannon are more than willing to play their part and sign up for the various farmer support schemes to protect biodiversity and restoring nature.
But he is wound up over the EU's Nature Restoration Law.
He says the European Union is trying to "slither" it onto the statute books without proper consultation, and that making it a legal requirement to restore wetlands could devastate family farms in his area.
Pat is standing in a fine green filed bordered by a brown boggy landscape at Cloghan in Co Offaly.
We are surrounded by about 20 gorgeous, good humoured, curious young calves. But Pat hasn’t brought me here to talk about calves.
Instead, he wants to tell me about the land, and how the Nature Restoration Law could put restrictions on how farmers could use it.
"What you see behind me here" he said, "is raised bog and heather and peat soil turned into good agricultural land.
"Our forefathers worked this land with shovels and spades to turn it into the brilliant farmland it is now. It is the same throughout the midlands and Co Offaly and the Bog of Allen region.
"Rewetting it will deprive people of between 10% and 50% of their acreage for farming. They say more than 340,000 hectares will need to be rewetted. That is land the size of Co Tipperary, removed from production. It will lead to massive job losses."
Pat believes the EU is trying to push all this through without consultation with famers in Ireland and he is particularly annoyed about that.
"If a farmer wants to rewet his land, then that’s okay. But it should not be a legislative dictate. Sure, Cromwell did that to us, and got away with it. I don’t think our European Union should be allowed get away with it," he said with defiance.
IFA National Environment and Rural Affairs Chairman Paul O'Brien said the biggest concern farmers have about the Nature Restoration Law is the lack of numbers.
"Everything is too vague. We don’t know how much farmland will need to be rewetted nor what type of farming will be allowed on the land after that," he said.
"We can’t just take a leap of faith and hope that somebody is going to catch us at the other end. That is not good politics and it’s not good policy.
"We have history. Farmers have had land redesignations in the past, under the Habitats Directive. They were told they would be supported on that journey. The money ran out fairly quickly, yet the redesignations have stayed in place to this day."
Mr O’Brien is calling for the European Commission and the European Parliament to pause the Nature Restoration Law and engage properly with the farming community.
He said farmers agree that nature restoration needs to be front and centre, and that farmers are up for the challenge. But he insisted there is a need for good communication on both sides.
Environmentalists are very worried that the lack of detail, poor communication, and the failure to explain which is at the heart of the farmer backlash could now scupper the Nature Restoration Law.
If that were to happen, they would be devastated.
More than 80% of EU Habitats are in bad or poor conservation status, 70% of EU soils are in an unhealthy condition, and wetlands have declined by 50% since the 1970s.
Head of Advocacy at Birdwatch Ireland Oonagh Duggan described the Nature Restoration Law as the most important piece of EU Legislation this century.
"It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to restore degraded habitats in Ireland. 85% of EU protected and internationally important habitats here have unfavourable status. They are in poor condition. That means they are not providing nature services to free for us.
"We are talking about carbon sequestration in peatlands, coastal dune systems that protect properties behind them from storm surges, rivers that are so very important for drinking water, bathing, and recreation. Then there is biodiversity, the huge range of fish and invertebrates, all the other animals, and birds," she said.
Ms Duggan said farmers raise a good point when they complain about the lack of consultation and poor dissemination of information about impact of the Nature Restoration Law.
She alluded to a history of mistrust and inconsistencies. For instance, at one time farmers were told to get rid of hedgerows to qualify for some farm support schemes. More recently, for other schemes, they have been asked to put them back in.
"The Nature Restoration Law will mean lots of jobs and lots of funding for rural Ireland in nature restoration. It will be good for the countryside, good for tourism, fantastic for birds and for bringing back endangered species. 63% of wild bird species in Ireland are on the red or amber conservation list. We need to bring them back," she said.
"There is EU money for this. I think we need to sign up for it, get the funding in place, get on with it, start restoring nature so that we can withstand climate breakdown and so that people can have healthier happier lives being out in restored nature."
What is the Nature Restoration Law?
· The proposed EU Nature Restoration Law is a draft regulation that is currently being negotiated in the EU Council and Parliament. It is EU-wide move to reverse decades of decline in biodiversity and bring ecosystems back into good condition.
· It is an essential element of the EU Green Deal and the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030.
· It will set legally binding targets for the restoration of nature across multiple habitats, including rivers, farmland, forests, uplands, coastal and marine areas, as well as our towns and cities.
· It will also provide for the development of a National Restoration Plan within two years of the regulation’s adoption.
· It includes ambitious goals for wild birds, bees, butterflies, free-flowing rivers, woodlands and oceans, with valuable co-benefits for climate and water.
· Towns and cities will also benefit in the draft regulation through provisions for green space, linking up wild places and planting native trees.
· It brings the potential to drive significant economic stimulus in rural areas through the creation of skilled jobs and the deployment of incentives for landowners that will benefit the wider rural economy and communities.
· It also has the potential to support climate action goals by reducing carbon emissions from the land use sector, increasing carbon sequestration and improving climate adaptation and resilience through the enhancement of natural buffers against flooding and coastal inundation.
· It can improve water quality and enhance ecological health of our rivers, lakes and coastal areas, as well as benefitting people’s health and well-being.
· The return on investment in nature restoration has been estimated by the European Commission as €8 to €38 for every €1 invested.
· Ireland’s position is being coordinated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on an all-of-Government basis.
What new binding targets are included in the proposed law?
· Restore habitats and species protected by the EU nature legislation.
· Reverse the decline of pollinators by 2030.
· No net loss of green urban spaces by 2030 and a minimum of 10% tree canopy cover in European cities.
· Improved biodiversity on farmland e.g. for grassland butterflies, farmland birds, high-diversity landscape features.
· Restore drained peatlands.
· Healthier forests with improved biodiversity.
· At least 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers by 2030.
· Restore seagrasses and sea bottoms.
What is rewetting?
· Rewetting is only one aspect of the Nature Restoration Law. It means raising the level of the water table on peaty soils that were previously drained for agricultural use, i.e. the level under the surface at which the soil is permanently wet. In most cases, grazing and farming of land can continue.
· The purpose of rewetting is to allow peatlands function more in tune with their natural processes, and to allow native plants and wildlife to return. For example, cranes have returned to restored to rewetted Bord na Móna bogs in the midlands. Instead of leaking carbon into the atmosphere, bogs when allowed to stay, wet act as a store.
· The European Commission has proposed rewetting 25,000 hectares by 2030, rising to 116,500 hectares by 2050. However, significant caveats have been proposed, which mean that an awful lot of the heavy lifting can be done on public land.
· The commission’s proposal provides that the targets can be achieved across a range of areas, such as former Bord na Móna bogs and Coillte forestry.
· This means that the 2030 targets could be met using public land alone, while only about an eighth of the 2050 target would need to involve private land.
