A local group formed to respond to the planned Bord Na Móna development of Abbeyleix Bog for commercial purposes for horticulturegardening. They believed this was not in the best interests of local nature and biodiversity. They began a campaign that took eight years to protect the bog with the agreement of the owners. The active raised bog habitat increased by 1,130% from 2009 to 2020. They created a vital local amenitysomething good that you can use to make life betterfor the community and its visitors.
Where is this?
Killamuck Bog, Abbeyleix, Co. Laois (500 acres)
Who started this action?
Abbeyleix Bog Project began in 2000 as a local action group called AREA (the Abbeyleix Residents for Environment Action)
Some quick facts about the project
- Site of over 500 acres was identified as suitable for protecting from harvesting for horticultural moss.
- Following negotiations with Bord Na Móna a lease was signed in 2009.
- The local community agreed to manage for a period of 50 years with a primary focus on conservation.
- Project was selected as a UN “Knowledge Site”, a prototype for best practice in community collaborative projects within the European Union’s Horizon 2020 WaterLANDS Projects.
Highlights Click toggle ⊕ to see these
- The local community opposed digging for peat for horticultural use on the bog.
- The Abbeyleix Bog Project produced a Conservation Management Plan in 2013,
- This was followed by an independent Conservation Management Report in 2015.
- AREA installed walking trails on elevated walkways
- Bog restoration, bog conservation, research & monitoring
- It took 8 years for a lease to be signed with Bord Na Móna,
- Active raised bog habitat increased by 1,130% from 2009 to 2020.
- A local amenitysomething good that you can use to make life better for the community and visitors was created
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Run educational courses for schools
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Host Guided walks
Why this matters
The AREA team knew that they had to stick with their project. It would not have been easy to convince the stakeholders that what they wanted was achievable and that the necessary resources were there, but they had confidence. This helped them negotiate successfully with Bord na Móna to get what was best.
SDG Alignment & Keywords Click toggle ⊕ to see these
- SDG 3: Good health & wellbeing,
- SDG 13: Climate Action,
- SDG 15: Life on land
Keywords: community-centred restoration, conservation, education, iodiversity, carbon sink, raised bog, cutover bog, Laois.
Find Out More about the project
The Activists Take-Away
A nature-based solution takes some imagination: you have to think about what the best way to solve a problem is. But it often means that you have to make alliances with local stakeholderspeople that will be affected (good or bad) by a project.
Listen to this podcast to learn how the people of Mulranny use the best communications practice to make sure they build alliances within their community.
Sustainable development, and participative democracy.
Listen on…
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