PRESS RELEASE

Conference in Westport reports findings 

Thursday 4^th October 2007: A conference today in Westport, Co Mayo, has heard how Coillte, the forestry and forest products company, has being working to restore approx 2,000 hectares of land to its natural wetland condition of blanket bog.

The Conference is being held as part of the EU/Coillte-funded LIFE project "Restoring Active Blanket Bog in Ireland".

Coillte's Blanket Bog restoration project represents a very important conservation initiative over the past five years, in which almost 2,000 ha. of Blanket Bog on Coillte's estate have been re-habilitated.

Speaking at the Conference, Kevin Donnellan, Project Manager from Coillte said:
"The project complements Coillte's Nature Conservation Programme under which 15% of the estate has been identified for management primarily for nature conservation. This project will help to  preserve a unique part of our heritage for future generations.

"We are delighted to acknowledge the generous funding received from the EU LIFE-Nature programme towards the successful implementation of this major habitat restoration project," he said.

The blanket bogs of Ireland are important for a wide variety of reasons including carbon storage, water supply and biodiversity.  Blanket bogs also have a rich diversity of flora and fauna.  These plants (sphagnum mosses, sundews, and purple moor grass) and animals (ranging from Red Deer to migrating Greenland white-fronted geese) are specially adapted to the wet and nutrient poor conditions that prevail on Blanket Bogs.  Many of these plants and animal species are considered rare in a European context.

Delegates from Ireland, the UK and continental Europe have been attending the conference and have heard presentations on topics associated with the project results, blanket bogs generally, their restoration and conservation, and the wider benefits of such projects. Guest speakers include Dr Micheál O'Briain of the European Commission and Dr Catherine O'Connell of the Irish Peatland Conservation Council.

Ends.

For further information contact:

Tom Byrne,
Coillte
Tel: 353 1 201 5231 / 086 810 4224

Caroline White,
Coillte 
Tel: 086 383 7435.

Or see www.irishbogrestoration.ie

Notes to editors:  

About Coillte

Coillte is the State owned company operating in forestry, land based businesses and added-value processing operations. The company, which today employs 1,300 people, was established in 1988 and owns over 445,000 hectares of land, approximately 7% of the land cover in Ireland.  Coillte has 3 operating divisions – Coillte Forest, Coillte Enterprise and Coillte Panel Products - reflecting the key areas of strategic focus for the Group.

 

For more see www.coillte.ie