Countryside Alliance Ireland - love the countryside

Leading conservation, countryside and farming groups have joined forces to protest against potential Government cuts which could undermine environmental measures in our countryside.

11 groups have signed a letter to Agriculture Minister Michelle Gildernew MP MLA and Department of Finance Minister Sammy Wilson, calling for the protection of agri-environment schemes in Northern Ireland which bring in money to our economy from European funds, support farm and other rural businesses, and help farmers protect water supplies, carbon stores, wildlife, landscapes and historical sites.

DARD opened the Northern Ireland Countryside Management Scheme for new applicants in March of this year, but it is likely that they will miss their own Programme for Government Target of getting 50% of the agricultural area into agri-environment by 2011. The aims of the scheme are to protect and enhance biodiversity and without funding this vital management will be lost in certain parts of the countryside.

"As a representative group of organisations speaking for farming, countryside and conservation sectors, we are concerned that the budget available for the delivery of agri-environment schemes in Northern Ireland could suffer," the letter reads.

"We understand that the financial situation is grave and that DARD has been asked to contribute to the reduction in the budget deficit, but undertaking cuts that will compromise the ability of Government to deliver its stated objectives cannot be the correct route. We believe that agri-environment schemes must be protected."

Because of the way agri-environment schemes are funded from both the UK Government and the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), a cut in domestic funding would result in further money being lost to Brussels. For every £4 spent by the UK Government on agri-environment schemes, an additional £6 is allocated from the CAP. If support for agri-environment is withdrawn by the Government, much of this additional funding will be returned to Europe and entirely lost to the UK economy.

The letter continues: "Wildlife across the rich variety of farmland habitats depends on the sympathetic farming activities that agri-environment measures support, and many species will continue to decline if farmers are not able to provide appropriate management."

"We therefore urge you to discard any further reductions to the agri-environment scheme budget that you are considering, and to protect these highly important schemes for the environment, farming, and the wider public who value and depend on our countryside."

The letter has been signed by representatives from the Ballinderry River Enhancement Association, The British Association for Conservation and Shooting, Countryside Alliance Ireland, Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, Friends of the Earth, National Trust, Northern Ireland Environment Link, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Ulster Angling Federation, Ulster Wildlife Trust, WWF NI