Category Archives: wildlife and conservation

RSPB opposed to fracking

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The RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) has spoken out forcefully against the use of fracking and extraction of shale gas in our current situation.  The highly respected and authoritative charity has pointed to the dangers of groundwater pollution, methane leakage, habitat loss, worsened climate change and loss of biodiversity as some of the major reasons why this would not be a positive step forward for either our native birds or ourselves.

If you agree with the RSPB, please take a few moments to let your elected representatives know how you feel.  Click here to find out how easy it is.

The full briefing is as follows:

RSPB External Position on Shale Gas

The RSPB is very concerned that unconventional gas developments are currently not regulated strongly enough to ensure that the potential environmental impacts are properly addressed.  The most significant risks that have not been adequately examined to date are that of accidental pollution of groundwater and methane leakage.  It is imperative that these risks are assessed and appropriately mitigated.  This will amost certainly require Government to amend or produce legislation.

Direct habitat loss is also a very significant concern in priority habitat areas, including designated and functionally-related sites.  It is important to note that both the individual footprint and cumulative impact of these sites could be significant, leading to habitat loss and fragmentation.

Furthermore, the RSPB does not think that developing the UK’s unconventional gas resources is compatible with its commitments on climate change and biodiversity protection.  If the UK is to meet its climate change commitments, we cannot allow a new ‘dash for gas’ that would lock us into high emissions for decades to come.  Until CCS technology to capture and bury carbon dioxide emissions is proven, further investment in gas-fired electricity is very risky.  Therefore, the Government must clearly show how new investment in gas at the level currently proposed is compatible with our short and long-term carbon targets.

John Martin, RSPB Northern Ireland

 

 

 

 

Areas of Special Scientific Interest 1: Lough Melvin

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County Fermanagh, as its proud residents and delighted visitors know, is a region of extraordinary beauty with unique landscapes and unrivalled habitats for rare species of wildlife and plants. This link takes you to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency’s list of Areas of Special Scientific Interest in the county, many  of them in West Fermanagh, in or close to the area where shale gas extraction is planned.

The photograph on the left shows Lough Melvin, about which the Agency writes:

“Lough Melvin is a large mesotrophic lough of high scientific interest for its flora and fauna.The ASSI includes the open waters of the lough in addition to a range of associated wetland and terrestrial communities.

Habitats include swamp communities, boulder and rock shore, fen, woodland and species-rich grassland. This wide range of habitats is reflected in the diversity of plant and animal communities present.
Plants with a restricted distribution in the British isles include lesser meadow-rue, chaffweed, fragrant agrimony, upland enchanter’s-nightshade, northern bedstraw, slender-leaved pondweed and water lobelia.
Blue-eyed-grass and globeflower are of particular note and occur on Schedule 8 of the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985.

The waters of the lough are unpolluted and in a relatively pristine state and support a unique salmonid fish community which dates back to the end of the last Ice Age. Three distinct sub-species of trout are found in Lough Melvin : sonaghen, gillaroo and ferox; providing one of the few examples of a once widespread situation of sympatric populations.
There are also stocks of the rare Atlantic salmon which is listed in Annex II of the EC Habitats and Species Directive and the Arctic charr, an Irish Red Data species.”

This is, of course, just one of the many “protected areas” within the bounds of the licence granted to Tamboran Resources. We’ll be featuring more of them in future posts. Meanwhile, if you’re concerned at the prospect of hydraulic fracturing here, please read our “What can I do?” page and think about signing the petition to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

 

 

 

 

Curlews, bats and melancholy thistles …

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As many people are becoming aware, the area in which hydraulic fracturing is planned includes the Marble Arch Caves Geopark, one of less than sixty designated geoparks in the world, selected for their exceptional geological heritage and natural landscape.  Within the Geopark are eight Special Areas of Conservation, at least eighteen Areas of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Preservation.

Sonya O’Dwyer Oldham has prepared notes and a presentation about the area, its geology, flora and fauna and has kindly made this available to users of the frackaware site.

Her presentation shows us the landscape, which includes blanket bogs, turloughs, limestone pavement and karst underground cave systems and the beautiful, scarce and endangered species of plants and animals which live there. Rare butterflies, bats, otters, golden plovers, fish whose species dates back to the Ice Age, the evocatively named melancholy thistle, the unique cave dwelling water beetles of Boho, the Irish damselfly, the curlew and many more depend upon these habitats for their home. In many cases these are the only remaining populations of their species within Northern Ireland, and sometimes the only known examples in the world.

You can see Sonya’s presentation in Open Office or Powerpoint formats or the notes only (without pictures) on our Documents page (as item 11).