FRIENDS OF ARDEE BOG AND EXTINCTION REBELLION CALL ON IRISH GOVERNMENT TO SAVE ARDEE BOG AND IRELAND’S PEATLAND HERITAGE
Environmentalist members of Friends of Ardee Bog took their campaign to stop the N52 Ardee Bypass from being built through Ardee Bog to protect its supporting habitat to the Dáil recently to hand in a petition to Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD.
They want him to uphold the law and confront the Climate Emergency by stopping Ecocide, embracing the Rights of Nature and halting the bypass.
“Friends of Ardee Bog is committed to protecting and preserving our home for generations to come” a spokesperson told Drogheda Life.
“We will do what we can to prevent the government and Louth County Council from building a road through this precious ecosystem” she added.
“We are calling out the disconnect between the government’s words and lack of Climate Action. The message is clear: Ireland declared a Climate Emergency in May 2019. We want to know; Why is the Irish government now building a road through a bog and a designated Flood Zone? “
The group, along with Extinction Rebellion members held a Silent Vigil for Irish Curlews, who feed and possibly nest where the proposed road is to be constructed, before handing petition, with over 10,700 signatures to Minister Malcolm Noonan. (Minister Eamon Ryan was too busy to meet with them.)
Peatlands have been described as Ireland’s rainforest. Bogs play a vital role in mitigating the effects of the climate crisis by storing vast amounts of carbon. Irish peatlands hold dramatically more carbon than agriculture or forestry.
Raised bogs, like Ardee Bog, take thousands of years to form and are our most important long-term carbon sink and store atmospheric carbon for thousands of years.
Ireland’s raised bogs are on the verge of extinction. The Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) says Ardee Bog is the very last and most easterly raised bog in County Louth and the Republic of Ireland.
Curlews, which are feeding and possibly nesting in Ardee Bog, are one of the most iconic birds of the Irish countryside but the Curlew Task Force has reported that there has been a 96% decline in numbers since the 1980s leaving it in danger of extinction in Ireland within 5–10 years.
The Friends of Ardee Bog say the proposed N52 Ardee Bypass, on its present course, will destroy the habitat the Curlew depend on for feeding and possibly nesting.
An Extinction Rebellion spokesperson said: “We cannot let the Irish government build a road through this designated Flood Zone. If Ireland is serious about being a climate leader, we need to stop the N52 Ardee Bypass on its present route.”
Anne Lennon of Friends of Ardee Bog who led the local Curlew Survey in 2021, says we are running out of time.
“Curlews are on the brink of extinction in Ireland” she said. “We have a moral obligation to protect the habitat that supports Curlew and other native species such as Lapwing, Bats, Irish Hare, Owl and so on. They need this ecosystem to survive.”
“Imagine Ireland without the unique call of the Curlew? How do we explain our failure to ensure their survival to the next generation? Lose the peatland that supports them and you lose a vital ecosystem needed by humanity as much as nature.”
“Enough is enough. This is ecocide. We cannot stand by while decisions are being made that will drastically affect the future wellbeing of those on this island.”
