Cavan County Development Plan 2022–2028 — Chapter 10

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   IW 1 IW 2 IW 3 IW 4 IW 5 IW 6 10.25 Landscape Character/ Natural Heritage Climate Context and Associated Development Objectives In accordance with the format set out in Chapter 5: Climate Change of this Plan the following is an assessment of the content of this chapter in a Climate Context and associated Development Objectives. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the greatest environmental risk to health is ambient air pollution, causing more than three million premature deaths worldwide every year. In Ireland, this figure is an estimated at 1,180 persons, aided by above average levels of air pollutants, despite the country meeting EU air quality standards. Ireland’s 2020 target is to achieve a 20% reduction of non-Emission Trading Scheme (non- ETS) sector emissions (i.e. agriculture, transport, built environment, waste and non-energy intensive industry) against 2005 levels. In early May 2019, Ireland became only the second country in the world to declare a climate and biodiversity emergency. Biodiversity is, essentially, the foundation of all plant and animal life, so this declaration is an important, formal recognition by the State of the seriousness of the threat that exists to that life. The National Biodiversity Data Centre has calculated that approximately 20% of all species, and one in every three bee species are threatened with extinction as a direct result of our eroding biodiversity. From the food we eat, water we drink, raw materials we use for fuel, construction and medicine, to the creation of space for our leisure, these biodiverse ecosystems help to regulate our climate. Healthy, intact ecosystems trap and sequester carbon, retain water, prevent soil erosion and provide protection from extreme weather. Habitats such as wetlands, woodlands and peatlands are particularly high in biodiversity value and are key for both climate mitigation and adaptation measures, providing important carbon sinks, water attenuation and flooding protection, and pollinators for crops. Development Objectives for Inland Waterways It is a development objective of Cavan County Council to: Protect and enhance the natural heritage and landscape character of the County’s Waterways and maintain them free from inappropriate development and provide for public access, where feasible, acknowledging the existence of contiguous Natura 2000 sites. Protect the biodiversity of rivers, streams and other water courses and maintain them in an open state and to discourage the culverting or realignment thereof. Consult with, as appropriate, the Inland Fisheries Ireland in relation to any development that could have a potential impact on the aquatic ecosystems and associated riparian habitats. Consult with Waterways Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the DECLG and the Inland Waterways Association on the development proposals that may affect inland waterways, rivers, lakes, canals or watercourses. Ensure that the County’s watercourses are retained for their biodiversity and flood protection values and conserve and enhance, where possible, the wildlife habitats of the county’s rivers and riparian zones, lakes, canals and streams which occur outside of designated areas to provide for a network of habitats and biodiversity corridors throughout the county. Support the development of blueways in County Cavan.Natural Heritage 383

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   LCC 01 LCC 02 LCC 03 LCC 04 LCC 05 LCC 06 LCC 07 LCC 08 LCC 09 LCC 10 LCC 11 LCC 12 Worldwide, peatlands account for 3% of all land cover, and 21% in Ireland alone13, and stores twice as much carbon as all standing forests, aided by the ability of a 15cm, thick layer storing more carbon per hectare than tropical rainforests14. Yet these habitats are extremely vulnerable to climate change and Ireland is set to lose 31% of this asset, by 2055, if immediate rewetting action is not taken15. 13 Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (2015), ‘National Peatlands Strategy 2015 – Managing Ireland’s Peatlands’, National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). https://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/NationalPeatlandsStrategy2015EnglishVers.pdf 14 Ramsar (2015), ‘Guidelines for inventories of tropical peatlands to facilitate their designation as Ramsar Sites’, Ramsar Briefing Note 9, Ramsar – Convention on Wetlands. https://www.ramsar.org/sites/default/files/documents/library/bn9_peatland_inventory_e.pdf 15 Sweeney, J. (et. Al) (2008), ‘Climate Change – Refining the Impact for Ireland: Streive Report’, Strive Programme 2007-2013, Environmental Protection Agency, University of Ireland, Maynooth. https://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/research/climate/sweeney-report-strive-12-for-web-low-res.pdf Landscape Character/ Natural Heritage Climate Change Development Objectives It is a development objective of Cavan County Council to: Within the lifetime of the plan, undertake a survey and vector mapping exercise to identify exemplar wetlands, bogs, individual trees and/or stands of trees and/or woodlands throughout the county worthy of protection and preservation. Encourage the potential community woodlands areas in urban/urban fringe areas and the development of community woodlands throughout rural Cavan. Promote the use in public spaces of hot water, foam stream, flame weeding and/or concentrated vinegar in favour of glyphosate weedkillers. Prepare a Peatland Strategy that shall encourage the rewilding, restoration and protection of peat bogs after turf cutting and/or peat extraction has ceased. Support the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme 2017 – 2022. Promote the roll-out of renewables and stringent protection and enhancement of carbon pools, such as forests, peatlands and permanent grasslands. Explore the opportunity of engaging the services of a full-time Ecologist on a shared basis amongst neighbouring Local Authorities. Install and promote the installation of bird, bat, and owl boxes, and bee bricks and insect hotels or equivalent, at all relevant locations and developments, where possible. Actively participate and seek to adopt recommendations originating out of the Climate Action Regional Office (CARO) and Northern and Western Climate Action Region. Fracking and the industrial extraction of fossil fuels will not be encouraged within Cavan ’s functional area. Develop a strategy to support an active native Tree Planting programme in the context of climate adaption. Support the aims of the National Peatlands Strategy and the implementation of the National Raised Bog SAC Management Plan 2017-2022 and Peatlands Climate Action SchemeCavan County Development Plan 2022-2028 384

Source Cavan County Council: Cavan County Development Plan 2022–2028 — Chapter 10 (2022–2028) · Licence the publisher's termsText read from the publisher’s PDF; tables, maps and drawings do not survive as text, and page numbers are the PDF’s (its first page is 1). Check the original before relying on a passage.