Farmers are to be incentivised to devote more land to saving the hen harrier which is one of Ireland’s most endangered bird species.
The rare bird of prey has been monitored in the Republic since 1998 and six special protection areas (SPAs) were set up to preserve their numbers in 2007.
However, the population has continued to decline in all but one of these areas.
The latest survey, which was carried out in 2022, reveal that numbers declined by almost a third between 2015 and 2022.
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The 2015 survey found between 108 and 157 pairs in the Republic of Ireland with the breeding population now estimated to be between 85 and 106 pairs. That represents a 59 per cent decrease since the first national survey was taken in 1998-2000.
Land-use changes have caused the loss of suitable habitat and unsustainable rates of nest loss is leading also to hen harrier chicks being preyed upon. Scientists are also alarmed at the low breeding rate and the number of juvenile birds who do not survive the first winter. At current rates of decline the species could go extinct in Ireland by the middle of the century.
[ Plight of hen harrier pits nature against climate policiesOpens in new window ]
Hen harriers are noted for the elaborate sky dance between the male and female. They were once plentiful in Ireland, but intensive farming and deforestation saw their numbers decline rapidly in the first half of the 20th century. Numbers started to rise with increased afforestation, but began to tail off in the 1970s and have been dropping since.
Saving them has been an environmental priority for the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) this century, but it has been a losing battle. A public consultation on their future and how to save them attracted more than 2,000 submissions.
A new hen harrier threat response plan has been published for the four years between now and 2028 which will see financial incentives for landowners who depend on the land within hen harrier SPAs for their livelihood and who will be asked to prioritise the hen harrier over commercial farming.
“This can only be successful if adequate support (financial and otherwise) is in place to enable farmers and other landowners to manage their land appropriately for hen harriers,” the report concludes.
Coillte will have to deal with the issue of the forest maturation bottleneck whereby the forest canopy closes over after approximately 15 years, causing problems for breeding hen harriers.
Some 40 per cent of the special protection areas are owned by Coillte. The report recognises that managing forestry to protect the interests of hen harriers could give rise to conflict with forestry management.
A pilot project will take place in the Slieve Bloom SPA to see how Coillte and the NPWS can work together.
Launching the plan in the Slieve Bloom mountains, Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan said the fate of the hen harrier is indicative of the broader issues nationally in tackling the biodiversity crisis with so many species currently under threat.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
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