As a rule, published Site Specific Conservation Objectives (SSCOs) for Natura 2000 sites do not contain lists of conservation measures, rather they are composed of a series of targets for the attributes of each of the qualifying interest habitats and species at the site, which, taken collectively, describe the ecological requirements for that site.
The SSCOs for the River Boyne and River Blackwater SAC, Site Code 002299 therefore do not contain a list of conservation measures. Rather, and as outlined in the reply to Question No. 293 of 29 November 2022, the conservation measures that apply to the River Boyne and River Blackwater SAC include, for example, restrictions on activities or actions that may be carried out at the site without the consent of the Minister. These activities at the site in question are known as Notifiable Actions. A list of applicable Notifiable Actions for each habitat and species is available at www.npws.ie/farmers-and-landowners/notifiable-actions/listed-habitats-and-species. These are in addition to other conservation measures operative at the site from time to time such as the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) Farm Plan Scheme, which is operating there currently.
Recent years have seen a significant change in the focus and resourcing that Ireland is giving to nature and biodiversity. The renewal and transformation of the NPWS has brought rapid progress in completing the formal designation of existing Natura sites, and the setting of detailed conservation objectives for those sites, as well as the establishment of a new conservation measures programme to support the delivery of those objectives.
