UNESCO project is progressing says council

KERRY County Council have refuted claims that they are not progressing and supporting the UNESCO Killarney Biosphere Reserve project.

In a statement the local authority stated that the appointment of a biosphere officer is imminent - one of the many steps the local authority in conjunction with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and South Kerry Development Partnership (SKDP) are taking to progress and develop the Killarney biosphere project.

Their statement comes after Irish Wildlife Trust (IWF) called for the Biosphere label to be removed from Killarney. The trust have written to the UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) committee calling on them to remove Killarney from its list of Biosphere reserves.

This status was renewed for Killarney National Parks and the Macgillycuddy Reeks in 2017. It has been awarded to the park since 1982 but was extended three years ago to include a much bigger area. The objective of this status is to combine nature conservation with sustainable development, to create a worldwide network for research, environmental education and training. Killarney National Park, now known as the Kerry Biosphere, is one of only two such designated sites in the country. At the time of the renewal the IWT claiming that such a renewal should not be given as they had serious concerns about the management of the park. They re-iterated their concerns again last week claiming that Kerry County Council had not developed the project citing the lack of appointment of a management committee and a Biosphere office as a failure. However, in a conflicting statement the council said that progress was being made and that interviews were held in the past week in relation to the filling of the Biosphere Officer position with an appointment imminent. The position was previously advertised in 2019, and three successful candidates declined the post. The council stated that work is ongoing on the The Reeks Trail Repair Scheme which is hugely successful and the European Innovation Partnership Agri-project with the farmers in the area to support the Biosphere model in Killarney.