Farming is a key component of an ambitious project to preserve the unique landscape of the Burren.

The Burren which encompasses 18,000 hectares of limestone landscape in Clare is an area of national importance for geology and biodiversity.

Changes in some farming practices have resulted in scrub encroachment, which wipes out native flowers and obscures historical monuments.

A new project called BurrenLIFE, funded by the European Union, aims to reverse this. Now Burren farmers will play a central role in the conservation of the area.

Brendan Dunford, who is project manager of BurrenLIFE says they will try to achieve more of a balance between agriculture and nature, with the focus on,

Low input, low impact farming activity.

Burren Farmer Michael Davoren supports the new scheme and is fully committed to the project.

It just has to work, for all our sakes, and for the environment’s sake.

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Dick Roche says that this more nuanced approach can pave the way for similar European Union projects.

An RTÉ News report broadcast on 15 July 2005. The reporter is Cathy Halloran.

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