A report shows that almost two thirds of the features of Northern Irelands Areas of Special Scientific Interest are in favourable condition.

The Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) interim report on the condition of lands declared as Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI), is based on the first three years of a six-year site quality monitoring programme. The methods by which the condition of the scientific interest of these areas are assessed, have been standardised across the UK.

EHS Chief Executive Richard Rogers said: The Department of the Environment is committed to ensuring that 95% of the features underlying the designation of our important wildlife sites are in, or approaching, favourable conservation condition by 2013.

Our emphasis to date has been on the declaration of these special sites. We now need to increase our efforts to bring the features of these sites into favourable condition. EHS will urgently start to tackle this by a combination of working closely with landowners through our local staff, on management prescriptions, and more active enforcement in cases of serious wilful damage.

We have been designating the best examples available. However, it is worth remembering that most of the features currently in unfavourable condition were in as bad or worse condition at the time of designation. Had it not been for ASSI declaration, the scientific interest of many of these sites may already have been destroyed altogether. By ASSI declaration, EHS has protected most declared sites from severe damage or total loss. For example, peatlands have been saved from peat cutting, woodland from clearance, grassland from ploughing, and wetlands from drainage. All these, and other damaging activities, could have been far more prevalent. Sadly, in a very few cases, despite our best efforts, severe damage has still taken place.

The challenge we face, is to work with landowners and other stakeholders to introduce what can often be subtle changes to management regimes, which will enable the recovery of the habitats. Sometimes, variation in grazing level and timing is all that is required. We must also take strong action against those who cause serious damage to these jewels of our natural heritage.

Overall, 64% of the features of scientific interest for which the sites were declared, are in favourable condition. A further 3% are recovering to approach favourable condition. The 33% of the features in unfavourable condition compares with the combined figure of 29% for the UK as a whole. When habitat features alone are compared, the Northern Ireland figure is 59% unfavourable compared with 36% for the UK. The picture is better for features relating to wild birds, of which 82% are favourable and for earth science features for which 98% are favourable.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. DOE is committed to ensuring that 95% of the features underlying the designation of internationally important wildlife sites and ASSIs are in, or approaching, favourable conservation condition by 2013. This requires regular monitoring to measure achievement against the target.

2. Site quality monitoring is the process of assessing that the condition of habitat and species interests of a designated site are meeting the objectives for which the site was declared. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee has co-ordinated monitoring effort (known as Common Standards Monitoring) amongst the UK Conservation Agencies. Condition assessment uses selected characteristics of each feature as a rapid means of monitoring site quality.

3. EHS initiated its programme of condition assessment in 2002. The six-year rolling programme has been designed so that each feature on each declared site can be assessed and reported on at least once during the 6-yearly cycle.

4. Our ASSIs have been in place for a much shorter time than those in GB (where they are called Sites of Special Scientific Interest: SSSIs) so we have had less opportunity to improve their condition. The NI equivalent legislation was not made until 1985 compared with 1981 in GB.

5. EHS plans to address the situation of many features being in unfavourable condition by: a progressive shift of emphasis over the next 10 years from designation to active management ; reviewing its provision of services to enable the development of closer liaison with landowners over the delivery of more appropriate management; increasing use of enforcement through the issue of compulsory management notices and through taking prosecutions over damage to ASSIs; considering state ownership where appropriate management of our most valuable sites cannot be delivered under existing arrangements.

6. The report is available to download here (PDF 44 KB)

7. For media enquiries contact the DOE Press Office tel. 028 9054 0003.