Guest blog by Dakota Reid, RSPB NI Conservation Officer.
Our upland habitats provide us with a huge range of benefits – they provide vital homes for nature, store carbon, hold back water to reduce the impacts of flooding downstream and provide us with safe drinking water. But they are in trouble.
Our uplands are home to a diverse range of wildlife – from common lizards, argent and sable moths and Irish hares to some of our most threatened bird species including Hen Harrier, Meadow Pipit, Golden Plover, Curlew, and Merlin. They hold a broad range of precious habitats, including blanket bog and heathland. However, these species and habitats have been negatively impacted by wildfires which have become increasingly frequent and damaging in recent years. Fires in our uplands kill and injure wildlife, result in large quantities of carbon being released and have a negative impact on the people who work in, live in or visit these beautiful landscapes. The devastating fire in the Mournes in April 2021 and the more recent fires on Garron Plateau were particularly shocking, but this may become a more common sight in years to come if we don’t take action now.
The Northern Ireland Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) recently launched a consultation on addressing wildfires which we have responded to. This is welcome news as we need immediate and decisive action if we are to save our precious uplands.
What causes wildfires?
In 2022, NI Fire and Rescue Service reported that all 1,239 wildfires that they dealt with were a result of human activity and therefore preventable. The causes are varied – most commonly they occur as a result of intentional burning (which is a land management tool) which has got out of control, or as a result of litter such as cigarettes and disposable barbeques.
Wheatears are one of our upland bird species that are in decline.
How can we prevent wildfires?
The best way to prevent devastating wildfires is to keep upland habitats in good condition so that they do not burn easily. Much of our uplands consist of peat, but the majority of it is in poor condition. Dry, damaged peat burns more easily and lets wildfire spread across the landscape. But if we rewet our peatlands, they will store carbon, provide homes for wildlife, lessen the impact of flooding downstream, provide us with clean drinking water and reduce the impact of wildfires. It’s win-win!
But only 25% of our designated peatland sites were deemed to be in favourable condition in the DAERA 2023 environmental statistics report. These are the sites such as Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSIs) that are most valuable to nature that DAERA has a duty to protect. We urgently need these sites restored!
We also need to urgently introduce an outright ban on the practice of burning on Northern Ireland’s peatlands, as well as resourcing their restoration. Furthermore, we need proper investment and education in the prevention, detection and response to wildfires.
Healthy uplands that are thriving with wildlife, delivering for the climate and not scarred by wildfires are within our reach!
You can read our full response to the consultation here: https://www.rspb.org.uk/globalassets/downloads/documents/rspb-ni-response-wildfires-in-northern-ireland.pdf