The Water Framework Directive
takes account of areas which
are protected under other EU
Directives.
Protected Areas for nature
conservation include:
•
SACs - HABITATS DIRECTIVE
•
SPAs - BIRDS DIRECTIVE
•
NHA/pNHAs - WILDLIFE ACT
Because of climate, geology
and geomorphology, and
hydrology, a large part of the
WRBD contains protected
habitats, plants and animals.
The Habitats Directive lists the
rare habitats which need
protection in Annex 1. The most
important are listed as Priority
Annex 1 habitats. Rare plants and
animals are listed in Annex 2.
Although all habitats, plants and
animals need water, some
particularly depend on it. 46
different Annex 1 and Priority
Annex 1 habitats which occur in
Ireland have been identified as
water dependent. 41 of these
occur in the Western River Basin
District.
As the map shows, most of the
SACs in the WRBD contain
Priority Annex 1 listed water
dependent habitats.
PRIORITY HABITATS
GROUND WATER DEPENDENT HABITATS
• Turloughs
• Petrifying springs with tufa formation
• Calcareous fens with Cladium mariscus
Turloughs and calcareous fens can have
surface water inputs as well as ground water.
PRIORITY HABITATS
PRECIPITATION DEPENDENT HABITATS
• Active raised bog
• Active blanket bog
• Bog woodland (this can have surface and
ground water inputs also)
PRIORITY HABITATS
SURFACE WATER DEPENDENT HABITATS
• Alluvial forests with Alder and Ash
There can be ground water inputs too.
PRIORITY HABITATS
COASTAL HABITATS
• Coastal lagoons
• Fixed dunes
• Machair
These habitats depend on coastal geomorphological
processes to maintain them, and usually depend on
several water sources: coastal, transitional, surface and
ground water.
OTHER WATER DEPENDENT
ANNEX 1 HABITATS
Non – priority Annex 1 listed habitats range from
• Sub-tidal, estuarine, shore, saltmarsh, and
vegetated cliff habitats
• Dystrophic, acid oligotrophic, hard water oligomesotrophic, and naturally eutrophic lakes
• Some types of river plant communities
• Some types of marsh, swamp, grassland, and
bog habitats
• Wet heath
THERE ARE 122 SACs IN THE WESTERN
RIVER BASIN DISTRICT.
Most SACs are large complexes which include different water dependent
habitats and species, which depend on different sources of water. The habitats
and/or species for which most SACs are designated depend on several
different sources of water (coastal, transitional, surface, ground, and
precipitation).
Most habitats protected under the Habitats Directive are naturally nutrient poor
(oligotrophic). Background water chemistry can vary within individual SACs in
relation to the underlying geology, for example the Lough Carra/Mask and the
Lough Corrib SACs include areas overlying acid granite, as well as areas over
Carboniferous limestone.
The next map summarises the 122 SACs in the WRBD into broad groups, based
on the main area and conservation importance of water dependent habitats, or
species, present in them. Remember that this is a simplification, aimed at
presenting an overview of the range of habitats present, and that more detailed
information is available for each individual SAC.
Main water source in individual SACs
Coastal
•
•
•
This group of SACs includes
Annex 1 listed reef and vegetated
sea cliff habitats, occurring on
rocky shores and islands, and
marine sub-tidal habitats. Annex
listed birds include breeding
seabirds, wintering waterfowl
(mainly Barnacle geese), and
resident chough.
Potential/existing impacts - may
include dredging, aquaculture,
aquatic discharges.
Some of the low-lying islands
used by annex listed birds may be
vulnerable to climate change
impacts due to rising sea levels
and storm surges.
Main water source in individual SACs
Coastal complex
•
•
These complex sites include significant areas of soft
shore, and are dependent on coastal
geomorphological processes for their maintenance.
Priority listed habitats in these complexes are fixed
dune and machair developed on sand, and lagoon
separated from the sea by a shingle or gravel
barrier. Annexed habitats include intertidal mudflats
and sandflats, saltmarsh, sand dune habitats, and
lakes. Water sources influencing these habitats are
coastal, transitional, surface and ground. Small
areas of precipitation dependent habitats may also
occur in some sites where a natural transition to wet
heath or bog is included in a designated site.
Annexed flora and fauna also occur. Water
dependent bird species in coastal complex sites
include breeding seabirds, wintering waterfowl,
corncrake and chough.
Potential/existing impacts - coastal complex sites
have a wide range of vulnerabilities, across all water
sources. A number of habitats are vulnerable to
erosion, both through land use impacts including
agriculture and recreation, and through coastal
processes and climate change impacts. Implications
for existing infrastructure maintenance, and
planning issues, arise in some sites where erosion
and flooding risks are greatest, currently and in the
medium and longer term, with regard to climate
change impacts. Nutrient enrichment and water
abstraction issues arise and are noted for some
sites, as most of the coastal complex terrestrial
water dependent habitats are naturally oligotrophic
and some are also sensitive to changes in
hydrological status
Main water source in individual SACs
Surface water
•
Surface water dependent habitats include a wide range of river
and lake types, with varying natural trophic status and water
chemistry. The Unshin River SAC is the finest example of an
un-drained lowland river in Ireland, with an exceptionally
diverse river channel and marginal flora influenced in places
both by groundwater and by peatland habitats, and is an
annexed habitat. Water quality issues have been identified for
this catchment, with evidence of eutrophication. In contrast the
Moy and Corrib channels and catchment floodplains have
been extensively modified hydrologically by drainage
schemes, while water quality is also problematic for the
conservation interests of the sites. Many surface water
systems include habitat for Annex 2 Habitats Directive listed
species of fauna, including lamprey, crayfish, and freshwater
pearl mussel (see Precipitation dependent habitats below).
Annex 1 Birds Directive listed bird species include corncrake
and wintering waterfowl. Lough Corrib is the only SPA in the
Western River Basin District to qualify for international
importance for the overall numbers of wintering waterfowl
(>20,000 birds).
•
Potential/existing impacts – water quality and quantity are both
issues for these SACs and habitats, but this does vary
between individual sites, habitats and species. Annex 1
Habitats Directive listed Freshwater pearl-mussel has the
highest water quality requirement of 4.5 to 5 BQI. Nonannexed water dependent habitats including wet grassland,
reedswamp and marsh habitats occur within the range of
seasonal variation in water level in floodplain areas, and are
important for flood storage as well as for their nutrient load
capacity. Detailed potential/existing impacts remain to be
identified for individual sites and species
Main water source in individual SACs
Ground water
•
•
•
•
Ground water dependent priority habitats include turlough,
petrifying springs with tufa formation, and calcareous fen. In
addition to individual turlough and fen sites, they are also a
component of a habitat complex with limestone pavement, a
non-water dependent Annex 1 habitat, for example at Black
Head Poulsallagh, Moneen Mountain, and the East Burren
Complex SACs. Annexed habitats in which ground water
makes a significant contribution include a number of lake
habitats, in particular limestone/marl lakes such as Lough
Arrow and the Lough Carra/Mask Complex. Ground water
dependent habitats occur mainly in Carboniferous limestone,
but also in coastal complex sites, and are generally
oligotrophic. Annexed flora and fauna species occur.
It should be noted that ground water dependent habitats also
occur within bog and wet heath sites, where mineral water
seepage and springs give rise to flush plant communities and
enhance biodiversity within individual sites. The Annex 2 listed
snail Vertigo geyeri occurs in some of these habitats.
Annexed bird and invertebrate fauna species also occur in
SACs in which ground water is the main water source.
Potential/existing impacts – ground water dependent habitats
are at risk to anthropogenic variation in water quantity and
quality in both ground and surface waters. The Lough
Carra/Mask SAC is adversely impacted by inflowing surface
water quality. Existing drainage schemes, in the Clare and
Corrib catchments for example, appear to have modified a
number of turlough habitats to the extent that they are
designated as NHAs rather than at the higher level of SAC that
would be expected for a priority Annex 1 listed habitat. A
number of ‘dry’ turloughs occur in this area, although a range
of turlough types are also designated which include peatforming habitats and transition mire, and there are also a
number of raised bog NHA designations.
Main water source in individual SACs
Mountain complex
•
•
Four SACs in Sligo and Leitrim have been grouped as
mountain complex. The main habitat cover in these sites is
often non-water dependent dry heath and grassland habitats,
but precipitation dependent wet heaths and bogs also occur
extensively at Ben Bulben and in Arroo. Gound water
dependent priority listed petrifying springs with tufa formation
habitat occurs in all mountain complex sites in association with
limestone strata.
Potential/existing impacts – to be identified, include mining
Precipitation dependent sites
•
•
Priority listed active raised bog and blanket bog habitats
contribute in varying proportion to land cover in these sites.
Annex listed wet heath, bog habitats, dystrophic and acid
oligotrophic lake habitats also occur. Most sites in this group
contain significant flush habitats indicating ground water
seepage and springs. Some downstream catchments have
populations of Annex listed fresh-water pearl mussel
Margaritifera margaritifera, a very long lived species in which
most populations are non-breeding, and which is extremely
sensitive to water quality, requiring a BQI of 4.5-5.
Potential/existing impacts – many sites in this group have
been damaged by turbary, drainage, afforestation, and/or
overgrazing. Pressures on precipitation dependent habitats
may result in downstream impacts including altered
hydrological regime, increased flashiness, flood risk and peat
silt load, with a risk of ponding with associated water quality
and reduced flow impacts during dry spells. Water quality
issues also arise. Targeted monitoring should provide
information relevant to habitat management planning and audit
for protected sites and species, as well as to water
management issues downstream.
SUMMARY OF CONSERVATION DESIGNATIONS
Conservation
designation type
SAC
Special Area of Conservation
•Contribute to the Natura 2000
network of European designated
sites
Enabling legislation
Objectives of the Habitats
and Birds Directives
Site Protection
Mechanisms
•Habitats Directive 92/43/EU
•European Communities (Natural
Habitats) Regulations, S.I. No. 94
of 1997.
•To maintain or restore natural
habitats, and species of plants
and animals, which are of
conservation importance as
defined in the Directives, at a
favourable conservation status
Habitats Directive:
•Annex 1 lists the habitats to be
protected, with the highest level
of protection applying to priority
Annex 1 listed habitats.
•Annex 2 lists the plants and
animals for which conservation
requires SAC designation, with
the highest level of protection
applying to priority Annex 2 listed
species.
Birds Directive:
•Annex 1 lists the bird species for
which conservation requires the
designation of SPAs – this also
applies to important
concentrations of migratory birds
•Identification and designation of
sites of conservation importance.
•Conservation measures
including management planning
and audit.
•Development/land use control
•Assessment of implications of
plans and projects proposed for,
or capable of affecting, protected
sites.
•Taking compensatory measures
in the event of site damage
•Notification of potentially
damaging activities.
•Promotion of beneficial land
uses through REPS and similar
schemes
SPA
Special Protection Area
•Contribute to the Natura 2000
network of European designated
sites
Birds Directive 79/409/EU
NHA/pNHA
Natural Heritage Area/
Proposed NHA
Wildlife (Amendment) Act, No. 38
of 2000.
Aims to:
Protect sites of scientific interest
because of their habitats, plants
and animals, or landforms and
geological or geomorphological
features from damaging
developments and/or land uses.