Minister Noonan launches Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan in the Slieve Bloom Mountains
- Foilsithe: 9 Meán Fómhair 2024
- An t-eolas is déanaí: 12 Aibreán 2025
• Plan sets out a roadmap to reverse the decline of this rare bird of prey and improve its long term prospects
• Plan includes a series of co-ordinated, cross sectoral actions across agriculture, forestry and wind energy sectors
• It builds on extensive public and stakeholder engagement and recognises the unique role of landowners and farmers in Hen Harrier conservation.
Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, has today (Tuesday September 10) launched the Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan (2024-2028) at The Cut, in the Slieve Bloom Mountains, Co. Laois.
The plan describes the particular threats faced by this rare bird of prey and a series of co-ordinated actions across the agriculture, forestry and wind energy sectors to improve its long term prospects. It involves strategic engagement with relevant departments and stakeholders to restore nature in important habitats for Hen Harrier. The Plan also recognises the importance of landowners and farming communities in improving the habitat for the Hen Harrier and the need for supports and incentives to engage them in conservation.
Speaking at the launch, Minister Noonan said:
“The publication of the Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan marks a significant milestone in our collective effort to prevent the extinction of our precious Skydancer. The plight of this iconic bird highlights the broader issues we face both nationally and globally in tackling the biodiversity crisis, and its future is very much in our hands. It’s vital that we now focus urgently and strategically on implementation. We must seize the opportunities presented in this Plan to deliver meaningful change to the management of our landscapes and protect our most vulnerable species. I want to extend my gratitude to those who contributed to the Plan over the many years of its development and look forward to working collaboratively with stakeholders in its delivery.”
The Hen Harrier is a ground nesting bird of prey that breeds in open upland bog and heather moorland, and associated habitats. It has seen significant declines in recent years, and could face extinction within the next twenty-five years if action is not taken. The Plan features clear actions to address key threats and pressures, such as land use change and climate change.
The actions, which are to be taken both within Hen Harrier Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and outside them, include measures across agriculture, forestry and wind energy development sectors, as well as recreation in important areas for the Hen Harrier. Delivery of the Plan will involve close collaboration and partnership with a variety of stakeholders and interests in each of the SPAs and in the wider countryside. Actions will involve ongoing data gathering, monitoring and research to inform conservation, collaboration, and further development of schemes and incentives for landowners and farmers to improve the habitat for Hen Harrier.
Niall Ó Donnchú, Director General with NPWS said:
“This plan sets out a direction of travel to give the Hen Harrier a chance of survival. It is incumbent on us across the public sector to work together to ensure that the actions are implemented. I look forward to further engagement with government departments and agencies as we prepare for delivery of the Plan.”
The Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan was developed by an Interdepartmental Steering Group, chaired by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and in collaboration with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC).
A Consultative Committee, with representation from key sectors, including forestry, agriculture, wind energy, landowners and from environmental and farming NGOs, provided insights as it was developed. A public consultation on the Plan was conducted earlier this year. Over 2,000 submissions were received, reflecting the level of public interest in the survival of Hen Harrier. The final Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan was approved by Government in July.
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Further Information / Notes to Editor
About the Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan
For more information about the Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan and the public consultation, please visit here.
The Hen Harrier in Ireland
The Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) is a territorial ground-nesting bird of prey that typically breeds in open upland bog, heather moorland, and their associated habitats, and is in decline. The 2015 National Hen Harrier Survey estimated the breeding population to be between 108 and 157 pairs in the Republic of Ireland. The 2022 survey has reported further population declines and a diminished range, with the breeding population now estimated to be between 85 and 106 pairs. Outside the breeding season, it ranges more widely across both upland and lowland areas.
The species is listed in Annex I of the EU Birds Directive (2009/147/EC) and as a result of obligations arising from it, six SPAs (Special Protection Areas) have been designated in Ireland for the conservation of its breeding habitat and population, covering a large area (169,118 ha). Two further SPAs have been designated for the wintering population.
Land-use changes have caused loss of suitable habitat and unsustainable rates of nest loss, coupled with increased levels of associated predation. In addition, there is a very low survival rate for juvenile birds through their first winter.
See Irish Wildlife Manual 147 – the 2022 National Survey of breeding Hen Harrier in Ireland for further information on Hen Harrier.
About Threat Response Plans
The European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011–2021 (the Regulations) obliges the Minister to identify threats to bird species referred to in Article 1 of the EU Birds Directive (including Hen Harrier) and to the integrity of European sites, “for the purpose of developing such measures as he or she considers necessary including, where appropriate, threat response plans under Regulation 39”. The Regulations provide for the preparation and implementation of such Threat Response Plans, and set out how such a Plan is to be developed in order to meet the obligations of the Birds Directive.
All public authorities must take account of Threat Response Plans relevant to their functions in the undertaking of those functions and responsibilities, and the Minister may request a public authority to take such steps as the Minister considers are necessary to ensure compliance with the Plan.