I propose to take Questions Nos. 505, 506, 507, 508, 509 and 510 together.
The UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List is an inventory of potential sites that Ireland intends to nominate for inscription on the World Heritage List. These sites can be cultural or natural or mixed. Each site on the Tentative List must demonstrate potential Outstanding Universal Value (its importance to all humanity), integrity, authenticity, long-term protection and management frameworks, and evidence of local stakeholder support - all critical components of a nomination dossier.
My Department's policy is that applications to the Tentative List are sponsored by the relevant local authority or key local stakeholders/landowners. Any assessments, ecological or otherwise, necessary to support the application should be carried out locally. This is crucial in order to facilitate public consultation and wider stakeholder engagement, particularly in light of the requirement under UNESCO Operational Guidelines for participatory planning and public consultation. The Tentative List was last reviewed in 2021/22 and it is not proposed to reopen the list for applications until 2030 at the very earliest.
Similarly, nominations for UNESCO Biosphere status or UNESCO geopark status should be sponsored and based on agreement between local stakeholders, communities, and appropriate government authorities. Biospheres must include a mosaic of ecological systems representative of major biogeographic regions that are significant for biodiversity conservation while geoparks are required to demonstrate they have geological heritage of international value and have an appropriate management plan in place.
Any sites wishing to apply for World Heritage, biosphere or geopark status are required to adhere to the guidelines set out and published by UNESCO.
Ireland, like all European Member States, is bound in law by the requirements of the EU Nature Directives which are designed to ensure the protection of certain habitats and species within sites designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs). The sites chosen for designation under the Directives are those which are significant from a conservation perspective not just at a national, but at a European level.
The designation of sites under the Nature Directives is a formal, legal process, with a number of steps, which are set out in full in S.I. No. 477/2011 - European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011.
Identification of the appropriate geographical area of a site is done by scientific analysis. Once draft boundaries are proposed, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my Department notifies landowners and the public of the intention to designate the site, and provides an opportunity for objections or appeals on the proposed site boundaries.
A Natural Heritage Area (NHA) is a national designation covering areas of conservation value for ecological and/or geological/geomorphological heritage. NHAs are designated under the Wildlife Acts. A suite of 1235 terrestrial biological sites were identified from NPWS surveys between 1992 and 1994 (known as the ‘National Areas of Scientific Interest (ASI) Survey’). The National ASI Survey was underpinned by the National ASI Survey Guidelines for Ecologists, an unpublished report to the NPWS. These guidelines outlined the criteria for the evaluation, selection and delimitation of areas of biological interest. To date, 148 sites have been legally designated as NHAs, all of which are peatland sites (blanket and raised bogs).
Prompted by communication from local groups regarding potential designation of the area in question, the NPWS undertook a survey of Glennamought Valley, which forms part of the Murphy’s Rock area, in 2004 for potential designation as an NHA. The survey undertaken did not recommend NHA status.
Currently, there are no further ecological surveys planned of this area by the Scientific Advice and Research Directorate of the NPWS.
