Strengthening Hedgerow Protection 

Oct 23

Citizens’ Assembly Ideas

In this column we examine the recommendation of Ireland’s Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. One such recommendation was the reviewing, strengthening and improved enforcement of legislation regarding hedgerows. Katie Smirnova of Hedgerows Ireland takes a closer look for us.

Strengthening Hedgerow Protection 

Written by Katie Smirnova, Campaigns Officer at Hedgerows Ireland

The opinions expressed in this article represent those of the author and do not neccessarily represent the views of the Irish Wildlife Trust.

Published online October 23rd 2024

If asked to imagine the Irish landscape, we might picture our rugged coastline, hills painted purple with heather, or a countryside criss-crossed with trees and shrubs. Ireland’s distinctive countryside mosaic is shaped by hedgerows; they capture carbon, slow the flow of water over land, buffer pollution, and help wildlife. The predator protection, nest sites, and food that hedgerows offer to wildlife is vital during the breeding season, when they are used by 55 of the 110 bird species regularly recorded in our Countryside Bird Survey. Healthy hedgerows also speed up water infiltration into the soil, trap pollutants from surface runoff, and are a barrier against strong wind, rain, and sun.

 

Unfortunately, it’s not all good news. Hedgerows are being mismanaged and removed for reasons such as convenience, construction, agricultural intensification, and aesthetic values. We can protect our hedgerows with nature-friendly management such as lighter A-shape trimming and rejuvenation through hedge laying. To prevent their removal, we could identify existing hedgerows in Local Area Plans so they are considered as part of the green space in developments. We could also enforce a mitigation hierarchy which emphasises opportunities for translocation where keeping hedgerows in-situ is not possible. To do this, we must change attitudes and strengthen policy and legislation. The latter point was recommended by the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, which noted that “Existing legislation and regulations regarding hedgerows must be reviewed, strengthened and fully enforced, with due regard to public safety.” These may include the Wildlife Acts, 1976 and 2000, EU Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC, Common Agricultural Policy Conditionality, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) (Agriculture) Regulations 2011, and more recently, the Nature Restoration Law 2024 and proposed Protection of Hedgerows Bill 2024.

The Wildlife Acts, 1976 and 2000, and EU Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC legally protect hedgerows if they contain a bat roost, meaning that a licence from the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) is required for any disturbance. Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976 should also be familiar to anyone managing hedgerows as it prohibits cutting, burning, or otherwise destroying vegetation between 1st March to 31st August to protect nesting birds. However, work is exempt if carried out in the “ordinary course of agriculture or forestry”, which includes horticulture and garden hedges. Exemptions also apply to construction or road safety, based on Section 70 of the Roads Act 1993. Hedgerows are a human-made habitat planted to delineate field boundaries, as a physical barrier, and for aesthetic or biodiversity purposes. By this logic, all hedgerows fall under the agricultural and horticultural exemption. There needs to be greater clarity on which hedgerows are actually protected outside of the exemptions. The NPWS is currently reviewing Ireland’s wildlife legislation and must address these faults to adequately protect hedgerows and nesting birds. Maintaining safe sightlines on roadside hedgerows is necessary, but we must cease the out-of-season cutting of internal hedgerows in gardens, parks, and farms.

Speaking of farms, a positive development under the Common Agricultural Policy 2023-2027 is that at least 4% of eligible land must be devoted to biodiversity in order to receive the single farm payment. The ‘Space for Nature’ requirement falls under Conditionality and the Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) 8. The direct financial value placed on hedgerows is positive because farmers were previously penalised for these non-productive areas. As a result, hedgerows were removed or managed more int

ensively to maximise the area eligible for payments. Farm hedgerows can still be removed under exceptional circumstances for building work or safety issues; though this does not include removing boundaries dividing two fields. Under GAEC 8, hedgerow removal falls under the EIA (Agriculture) Regulations 2011 and requires replanting with double the original length. However, this does not offer sufficient protection as the Regulations’ screening thresholds are too high and a newly planted hedgerow will take many years to become a functioning habitat.

The Regulations apply to farmers and involve an initial screening process followed by an EIA if deemed necessary. The mandatory thresholds for screening are either 500m of hedgerow or the restructuring of 5ha of land. For EIA, these increase to 4km or 50ha, respectively. The Regulations Guide to Farmers specifies that sub-threshold works must still go through screening if they “may have a significant effect on the environment” or if the hedgerows are “important commuting routes or feeding habitats for bat species”. Since all hedgerows are vital for bats, it would seem that any work should be screened by default. However, the thresholds mean that a lot of removal is not screened, and if it is, the applications are usually approved. Fortunately, the Depart

ment of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is currently reviewing the EIA (Agriculture) Regulations 2011. Hopefully, they will integrate recommendations from the consultation and reduce these exceedingly high thresholds. Submissions also requested a clear, standard methodology for assessing applications and more reviews of approved works to improve the system’s credibility.

A positive development in legislation affecting hedgerows was the adoption of the EU Nature Restoration Law in June 2024. Article 11 sets out targets for Member States to achieve increasing trends in the grassland butterfly index, stock of organic carbon in cropland mineral soils, and share of agricultural land with high-diversity landscape features, such as hedgerows. There are other targets for forestry, aquatic ecosystems, and urban areas. Measures for individual landowners will be voluntary and financially incentivised through various schemes. However, the new law is mandatory for Ireland as an EU Member State, meaning that as a country we have a legal obligation to meet the targets for nature restoration.

Another new initiative is the Protection of Hedgerows Bill 2024, brought before the Dáil by members of the Climate Bar Association in collaboration with Dr Alan Moore and other hedgerow advocates in Co. Tipperary. The Bill proposes additional restrictions on the removal of significant hedgerows, guided by factors from the Hedgerow Appraisal System 2013. For example, historical and cultural elements, species diversity, structural features, habitat connectivity, and ecosystem services. The Bill is currently before Dáil Éireann at the Second Stage, so stay tuned!

As it currently stands, the extent of hedgerow mismanagement and removal is failing both people and our nature. Nevertheless, reviews of the wildlife legislation and EIA (Agriculture) Regulations 2011 indicate that there is an openness to change. It is vital that we all respond to consultations and play our part in strengthening the legislation and regulations that protect hedgerows. By promoting nature-friendly hedgerow management, we can also shift societal norms and people’s attitudes towards this integral part of our landscape, which will eventually reduce the underlying need for enforcement of legislation.