May meeting to decide future of ‘priceless gem’
A CAMPAIGN to preserve Western Europe’s last remaining tract of ancient Rainforest, has been given a significant boost more than six-decades after it was nearly lost for good.
Large sections of The Gearagh near Macroom were controversially flooded by the ESB during the 1950’s to make way for the dams at Carrigadrohid and Inniscarra under the River Lee Hydro-Electric scheme.
In 2014, Declan O’Mahony’s fascinating documentary ‘River Runner’ offered a thought-provoking insight into the damage the process caused to The Gearagh, in particular highlighting the destruction of thousands of ancient yew and oak trees.
Likened in its rarity to the Cloud Forests of the Andes and the Mist Forests of the Canaries, The Gearagh has been described as a “priceless and irreplaceable” remnant of the temperate rainforest that once covered much of the Eurasian land mass.
While ‘River Runner’ was stark in its appraisal of the damage done to The Gearagh, it did offer a chink of light through the fact that, according to Kevin Corcoran of the West Cork Ecology Centre and one of the films narrators, it has made “a remarkable recovery” over the past 60-years.
However, experts have warned this natural recovery is being threatened by a number of factors including nearby windfarms, blanket afforestation and land reclamation.
They maintain these have modified the hydrology of the River Lee, which is having a negative down stream affect in The Gearagh.
“In effect, it is being washed away,” said Mr Corcoran.
With this in mind the ESB, Cork County Council, Inland Fisheries Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Service will meet next month to decide on a future plan of action aimed at preserving The Gearagh and, which is a National nature Reserve, a Special Area of Conservation, a Special Protection Area and a World Ramsar Site.
Mr Corcoran, who has studied and monitored The Gearagh for the past 35-years, said that as a result of legal commitments under the EU Habitats Directive The Gearagh must be protected from injury.
“That is the purpose of the meeting on May 16,” said Mr Corcoran who pointed out this would be the third meeting to have taken place between the various interested bodies.
“Hopefully, a sustainable management plan is being thrashed out that will allow the ESB to perform its job in addition to boosting the economy of the entire Lee Valley through the eco-tourism benefits that would follow on from the continued restoration of The Gearagh,” he added.
He said the main focus of his research had always been to ensure this “priceless gem” was preserved for posterity.
“Up to now, the best way to achieving that has been through keeping it below radar, away from a public glare that could quickly wipe it out through mass intrusion. This has been incredibly difficult, almost like trying to hide the Cliffs of Moher, but somehow the centre has managed to pull that off,” said Mr Corcoran.
“Now however, the time is right to bring it out into the open. Stringent EU laws are there to protect it (The Gearagh) and there is a better educated public out there that will hopefully take it into their hearts.”