Saturday, October 06, 2007

Maps of Protected Areas in Ireland

The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is responsible, through the National Parks and Wildife Service, for the designation of conservation sites in Ireland. There are three types of protected areas in Ireland:
  1. NHAs - Natural Heritage Areas
    A basic wildlife designation. Many NHAs overlap with SACs or SPAs. There are 802 that don't, covering 1,130 square kilopmeters.
  2. SACs - Special Areas of Conservation
    Prime wildlife conservation areas, of importance in Irish and/or European context. These are selected and designated under the EU Habitats Directive and transposed into Irish law in the European Union (Natural Habitats) Regulations, 1997. Ireland has 381 candidate Special Areas of Conservation, covering circa 10,000 square kilometres. Approximately 25 SACs are also designated SPAs. View map of Irelands Special Areas of Conservation.
  3. SPAs - Special Protection Areas
    Primarily areas of importance to birds. Designated under the EU Birds Directive. 110 SPAs have been designated, with a further 25 proposed. View map of Ireland's Special Protected Areas.

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The island of ireland

Once upon a time, and for 15000 years, ice a mile high blanketed Ireland. When the lingering Ice Age finally released and the Irish ice departed it left a landscape scoured. Across land bridges linking Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe plants and animals arrived to colonise the new lowlands, mountains and valleys. The world’s ice continued to melt, the sea levels to rise, and some 8000 years ago Ireland became the island we now know, accounting for just 0.01% of the world's total land area and the most westerly point of Europe.

Though at Alaskan latitudes, the country's climate is tempered, due partly to the neighbouring waters of the Gulf Stream and partly the prevailing southwesterlies that veering and backing make landfall on our sodden coast. These offerings from the Atlantic mean it is never too hot, never too cold. But without doubt it is wet. Rain lingers year round, never far away, though is most frequent in winter, the western counties and, inevitably, on the day of your parade.