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Press Release: Frogs PDF Print E-mail
9th December, 2009

Are frogs worth €125,000?

This week the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government announced plans to survey the Irish frog population with some media reports putting the cost of this project at €125,000 (RTE’s Morning Ireland programme 8/12/09). The reaction in the media and elsewhere has been mocking with the underlying assumption that spending in this way is a waste of tax payers money. People are right to ask ‘Are frogs worth €125,000?’ and the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) would very much welcome a debate on this topic. Unfortunately, as we have seen in the past, all we get in the media, and from politicians, is ill-informed sneering and dismissive jibes.
 
The IWT chairman, Pádraic Fogarty says:
 
“Irish people have to start reappraising our relationship with the natural environment.- after all it sustains our very existence. Children of 5 years can name 20 brands of breakfast cereal on the supermarket shelf but many adults cannot name 10 types of tree that are growing all around them!”
 
It seems that in Ireland people have become so divorced from nature that it is seen as surplus to requirement, something that is nice to have rather than an essential component of our land. For instance, the protection of habitats is well known to alleviate flooding but in the recent debate on the topic Padraig Walshe of the Irish Farmers Association dismissed those who highlight this as ‘do-gooders’ while Pat Kenny, on his Frontline programme said that these people ‘only care about the birdies’.
 
In these times money must always be spent wisely, so are frogs worth €125,000? Absolutely yes, and here’s why: first and foremost all our species are knitted together into ecosystems – dismissing one species is like knocking bricks out of a wall – eventually its all going to fall down. Secondly, ecosystems perform essential services from regulating our climate, storing water during flood, pollination of crops, maintaining soil fertility, as well as providing food and building material. These services are provided free of charge and the Department of the Environment put the value of these at a conservative €3 billion per year (The Economic and Social Aspects of Biodiversity, DOEHLG, 2008). The cost of conservation is a tiny fraction of this.
 
The IWT says that if people want to talk about frogs and the value of conservation, lets have that debate, but please, do not let ignorant politicians and headline writers tell us our frogs are worthless. 
 

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Padraic Fogarty, IWT Chairman : 01 8602839

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