EPA - Ireland's Environment 2016 - An Assessment

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Ireland’s Environment – An Assessment 2016 58
Threat Response Plans
Threat Response Plans establish a system of strict
protection for species and habitats listed in the
Habitats Directive.
The NPWS has prepared Threat Response Plans8 to
establish a system of strict protection for the species
and habitats listed in Annex IV of the Habitats Directive,
including otter, bats and cetaceans. These plans continue
to be implemented with future appraisal and expansion
to other species currently under consideration (National
Biodiversity Working Group, 2014).
A Red Grouse Species Action Plan was published in 2013,
as a collaborative project between the Irish Grey Partidge
Conservation Trust, National Association of Regional
Game Councils, Golden Eagle Trust, Irish Kennel Club,
BirdWatch Ireland and NPWS. The plan provides guidance
for the conservation and management of red grouse and
its habitats and suggests a framework for actions and
recommendations to achieve this.
Updating the Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/
EC) freshwater pearl mussel sub-basin management plans
and the effective implementation of measures within
these plans will be essential in improving the status of this
endangered species.
8
Group Species Action Plans for the
Protection of Birds
Plans for priority, migratory and dispersed birds based
on their habitat requirements.
BirdWatch Ireland developed a series of 10 Group
Species Action Plans for Ireland’s “priority, migratory and
dispersed” birds based on their habitat requirements.
These plans encompass those species that are found
on the BoCCI Red and Amber Lists, including some
regularly occurring birds in Ireland that are on Annex I
of the Birds Directive, along with some additional bird
species requiring protection. The Action Plan for Upland
Birds in Ireland 2011‑2020 is an example of such a plan
(BirdWatch Ireland, 2010). Uplands are considered to
contain important areas of semi-natural habitats in Ireland.
The plan covers 22 bird species, of which seven are Red
Listed and 13 are Amber Listed. Seventeen targets and
associated actions are categorised by themes with some
specific actions for species that require them; e.g. a target
has been set to establish the size of the breeding curlew
population, a Red-Listed species that has undergone a
dramatic decline in Ireland.
Reintroducing Birds of Prey (Raptors) to Ireland with Mixed Success
A programme to reintroduce three large raptor species into the wild in Ireland has had mixed success. Current
monitoring indicates that a number of birds have been subjected to illegal poisoning.
Of the 61 golden eagles released in Donegal up to 2012, seven were found dead, three of these confirmed as having
been poisoned. There are three known breeding pairs surviving, one pair having produced the first Donegal-bred
golden eagle in 2014. However, there are concerns regarding the appropriate management of upland habitats and
availability of prey to sustain a viable population of golden eagles (IWT, 2015).
One hundred white-tailed sea eagles were released in Kerry from 2007 to 2011. Of these, 30 died (including
12 confirmed poisonings). In 2015, eight pairs nested, and four of these nests produced young. The nest site of a
breeding pair in Mountshannon, Co. Clare, which can be viewed by the public attracted over 17,000 visitors in the
2013‑2014 period. In 2016, white-tailed sea eagles
successfully bred on an island on Lough Leane in Kerry
for the first time in over 100 years.
Thirty-one of the 158 red kites released in Dublin and
Wicklow from 2007 to 2011 were found dead (including
23 confirmed poisonings and one shooting). Overall,
however, the red kite reintroduction project has been
largely positive; breeding has been successful and
translocation of Wicklow donor stock into Munster is
being considered for the future (National Biodiversity
Working Group, 2014).