Conservation versus Tradition in Ireland's Battle of the Bogs
2/11/99
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Title: Conservation versus Tradition in Ireland's Battle of the Bogs
Source: Agence France-Presse
Status: Copyrighted, contact source to reprint
Date: 2/11/99
DUBLIN, Feb 11 (AFP) - A battle of the bogs is being fought in Ireland
with traditional turf-cutters strongly opposing a European Union (EU)
directive aimed at conserving thousands of hectares (acres) of
environmentally sensitive peatlands.
The emergence two years ago of a powerful lobby in the west and midlands
of the country, who want to keep on digging out turf to heat their
homes, led to a year-long moratorium on a ban on harvesting being
granted last March.
Now, the traditional cutters have rejected new compromise proposals from
the Irish government to settle the dispute involving cash handouts and a
phased end to harvesting.
Central to the row is the designation of 35 "raised bog" sites totalling
7,000 hectares (17,500 acres) -- some of the last in Europe -- as
Special Areas of Conservation (SACs).
However, banning the harvesting of what has been the poor man's home
heating to protect the delicate flora and fauna on them from extinction
cuts across politically sensitive and deeply rooted rural traditions
dating back hundreds of years.
The cutters have been able to keep their home warm on a traditional
turbary (turf-cutting) plot or about an acre (0.4 hectare).
The turf is cut in the late spring and early summer. The sods are dried
on the bog and brought in undercover in the autumn for the winter
heating, burning with a low heat and churning out a lot of smoke.
Leading the traditional turf-cutters' rebellion is retired teacher,
Michael Mullready, 68, of County Roscommon, who claims it is a dramatic
choice between the "survival of plant life or human life".
He has been cutting turf on the bogs since he was 10 and chairs the SACs
Action Group which he says represents about 10,000 turf-cutters on 82
percent of the affected bogs.
"Even the harshest landlords in the past let people cut turf to keep
their homes warm. It is our birthright and has been part of our way of
life for generations. It is our heritage and culture," he said.
The Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC), an environmental
charity, meanwhile, has given a "cautious welcome" to the proposals but
is concerned it may involve a phase-out time of up to 10 years which
will cause further damage.
Their greatest concern is about 50 commercial companies harvesting peat
from the bogs. The peat is used for gardens and potted plants.