Irish Wildlife Trust seminar on ‘Rewilding for People and Nature’ in Longford

The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) will host a special seminar on ‘Rewilding for People and Nature’ at the Corlea trackway visitor centre near Kenagh on Saturday, March 25.
The event will feature speakers from the IWT as well as the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Affric Highlands rewilding project in Scotland.

Pádraic Fogarty, Irish Wildlife Trust, explained what the event is about: “We hope to use the seminar to talk about the great benefits that a landscape-scale rewilding project for the Lough Ree area would bring, not only as a response to the biodiversity and climate crisis but also as a local amenity and world-class tourist attraction.

“The worked-out bogs in this region are carbon rich, despite the extent of turf extraction in the past, and they have the potential to store, and remove, substantial amounts of carbon. They have enormous biodiversity potential, especially when they are taken in combination with the wider Lough Ree/River Shannon areas.
“The area is already important for a range of wetland birds and migrating species such as whooper swans, but in time, with the right measures, the region could become a wetland of international value, along the lines of Doñana in Spain or the Carmargue in France.

“It could become the largest area dedicated to wildlife protection in Ireland and could therefore be a major attraction to domestic and overseas visitors who are increasingly seeking out close-to-nature experiences.
“This was the vision of the Shannon Wilderness Park, set out by John Feehan nearly two decades ago. A plan for a wind energy development has so far prevented the realisation of this vision and still threatens the area.

“Unfortunately, the presence of wind turbines would not be compatible with a rewilding plan. Many of the larger birds would avoid the area while the need to continually pump the bogs (something that has been happening continuously since turf-extraction has ended) would prevent the development of the wetlands that are of such biodiversity value.
“Pumping, which dries out the peat, also results in the release of huge quantities of greenhouse gases so that a plan for rewilding, that stays true to the Shannon Wilderness Park vision, would be, by far, the best option for climate as well as biodiversity.

“The potential to link up greenways and blueways between the River Shannon and the Royal Canal offers an unprecedented opportunity to create genuinely sustainable jobs and economic activity long into the future.
“Our event hopes to set out this vision and to learn from the rewilding project which is underway in Scotland, which is part of a broader European initiative. Rewilding can be a celebration of the social, natural and cultural heritage of this part of Longford and launch a new chapter for the region now that turf extraction has come to an end.

“We are looking forward to hearing from local people about what they want from the landscape and hopefully having a lively and stimulating discussion. To register for the event please email irishwildlife@iwt.ie or see www.iwt.ie for more information.”