Introduction
The people of the Midlands in Ireland have had a tempestuous relationship with the bog since the time of legends. In Tochmarc Étaíne, or The Wooing of Etain, the human king Eochaid demanded of the Tuatha De Danann prince Midir a road over a bog that no man had trodden on before and his spy saw all the men of the world raising a tumult by putting a full forest, clay and stone in the bog (CELT, 2005). Midir said it was too much to have asked of him and put a defect in the trackway (CELT, 2005). There is one such Togher, or Iron Age road, circa 148 BC, on display in the OPW Visitor Centre at Corlea, Kenagh, Co. Longford that has a defect and is thought to have lasted only about ten years as a working causeway (Heritage Ireland, 2023). This story and archaeological find both indicate a long cultural heritage of the peatlands of the Midlands which continued to be exploited for the use of man throughout history. The potential future UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of the Mid Shannon Biosphere & Environs has many protected areas within and around the site along with the cultural history from Iron Age to the age of Bord na Mona. While it is currently degraded in many areas due to 70+ years of industrial extraction some endangered species are taking refuge there and the inspiration of the accidental man-made creation of a nature reserve on Bull Island within the Dublin Bay Biosphere Reserve indicates a vibrant living biodiverse future for the area (Dublin Bay Biosphere, 2023). Therefore, although not yet established as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve it is an equivalent protected area of both natural and cultural importance.

The Mid Shannon Biosphere & Environs is an ambitious but achievable dream. While it isn’t recognised as yet as a UNESCO biosphere region it has been discussed, proposed and planned since 2013 when Longford County Council drafted an initial plan for the Mid Shannon Wilderness Park to include areas of Lough Ree, the Rivers Shannon, Inny and Camlin, the Royal Canal, Newcastle Wood other forests and the then expected to be future rehabilitated Bord na Móna bogs (Longford County Council, 2013). It proceeded to presentation at partner local authorities and to a proposal by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve as Mid Shannon Biosphere & Environs in 2020 based on the importance of Wetlands for Wildlife, their role in Climate Change & Solutions, the provision of eco-tourism, Carbon sequestration, Education and Awareness/Research (Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, 2020). It covers an expansive area of 2,081.87 Sq. Km over four counties (IBID, 2020). There are Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Areas (SPA) and Natura 2000 designated sites in the proposed Biosphere and others in the surrounding area along with Glen Lough a Ramsar site for migrating whooper swans which have also been seen within the boundary (IBID, 2020). See maps of the proposed area in Figure 1 and 2

While the site is of interest for natural heritage and the restoration of bog and habitat it is also in an area of cultural heritage with Corlea Iron Age Trackway, other megalithic and other era sites and can therefore be classified as a mixed cultural/natural site (Heritage Ireland, 2023). It also is linked to the intangible cultural heritage of the Irish Legends of the Mythical Cycle (CELT, 2005).

Conservation
The Burra Charter provides guidance for the conservation and management of places of cultural significance and is based on the knowledge and experience of Australia ICOMOS members (Australia ICOMOS, 2013). Article 1.4 defines conservation as ‘all the processes of looking after a place so as to retain its cultural significance.’ (Australia ICOMOS, 2013). It can also be used as a guide for outlining concerns and conservation strategies for natural and mixed sites. Conservation could refer to :

• retention or reintroduction of a use;
• retention of associations and meanings;
• maintenance, preservation, restoration, reconstruction, adaptation and
  interpretation;
• retention of the contribution that related places and related objects make to the cultural significance of a place;

It will often be a combination of more than one of these (Australia ICOMOS, 2013).

Conservation Concerns of the Mid Shannon Biosphere & Environs
1 Maintaining/Preserving the SPAs/SACs within the Biosphere and surrounding area.

• Within the context of the proposed Biosphere the conservation of these areas will involve maintaining the conservation objections as laid out by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS, 2023). At a recent workshop on rewilding hosted by Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre the NPWS Conservation Ranger Sue Moles laid out all that is involved and discussed the plants and bird species of the area. These included wetland birds such as the Curlew – breeding in the area , Red Grouse – a rare sight in the midlands now and none were recorded in Longford at the last survey, the breeding Lapwing – in serious decline, the Corncrake – gone from the midlands, the Greenland White-fronted Goose, the Merlin, the Hen Harrier and the Cuckoo once widespread in the area are also in decline (Moles, 2023). On a positive note the Snipe in rapid decline around the country has found refuge in County Longford and the NPWS has had success breeding Curlew at Lough Ree with successful predator control for the last 8 years (Moles, 2023). This also resulted in more Lapwing, Red-Shank, Ringed Plover, Scoter, Oyster-Catcher, Duck, Sand Piper, Gulls, Little Egrets breeding in the area (Moles, 2023).
• Sue has worked in the NPWS for 27 years and has been the County Longford Wildife Ranger for 23 years which is quite an extensive area to cover on her own highlighting further concerns with regard to these sites and that is sufficient skilled staff and funding (Moles, 2023).
• The Report of the Citizen’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss made a number of recommendations regarding the designated sites and species as they noted they were not sufficiently resourced with staff or funding and should not be regarded in isolation as they are connected to areas outside the sites (Citizen’s Assembly, 2023). A UNESCO Biosphere on the peatlands of the Midlands would help in fulfilling recommendations 131 to 134 on Biodiversity along with the many regarding peatlands specifically (Citizen’s Assembly, 2023).

As mentioned there are a number of SPAs and SACs with the area and in the surrounding areas and the maps in Figure 1 and 2 show the remainder of County Longford area is very near the boundary so all of County Longford could be considered important to the Biosphere as could other sites such as Lake Derravaragh of The Children of Lir fame in County Westmeath, a National Heritage Area (NHA) (NPWS,2023). The latest County Development Plan of County Longford considers these areas and the “features of interest” (Longford County Council, 2021). See Figure 3 and 4.

2 Biodiversity Loss is a continuing concern which could be mitigated in Peatlands
by the Reintroduction of Biodiversity through Cessation of Extraction
Scientists have had concern about a biodiversity crisis since they called the first International Conference on Conservation Biology in 1978. The increasingly rapid disappearance of various forms of plant and animal life as well as the destruction of their natural habitats can pose serious threats to human welfare in the future, according to Michael Soule, a conservation biologist at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD, 1978).
The Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in preparation for a National Peatland Strategy links the health of the peatlands to the health of the waterways and biodiversity (EPA, 2007). It concluded that Peatlands be a priority, management plans be central, and an urgent requirement, for the development of biodiversity policy and noted that conservation also involves restoration of damaged areas (EPA, 2007).

3 Carbon Emissions and Bog Degradation is a concern which can be mitigated by
Restoration Management and Carbon Storage
It is time we start valuing our natural heritage as much as our cultural heritage, start
treating our bogs like our Book of Kells, value our rivers and coastal waters as much
as our multinationals, and cherish our forests as a part of our living history. In doing
this, we can be good ancestors (Ní Shúilleabháín, 2023).

Approximately 70 years of industrial extraction of peat by Bord na Mona has lead to little of the original biodiversity struggling to survive on the outskirts. Other peatland restoration projects, including that at Ardagullion SAC in North Longford (RaisedBogs, 2023) have shown us that the minimum effort of filling the drains and letting nature rewild can be as successful as more intrusive methods. At Ardagullion, circa 800 dams were installed and a 700m barrier dam was installed. The results were almost instantaneous as wildlife returned and rare flora flourished (RaisedBogs, 2023). This approach would also benefit the community in that the people qualified to do the refilling are the people who have been let go from their jobs in Bord Na Mona itself. Studies abroad and in Ireland have shown that degraded peatlands contribute to greenhouse gas emissions – carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous- oxide as well as fluvial losses and restoring and rewetting can substantially reduce emissions (Aitova et Al, 2023). Ireland is approximately 20% peatland so this work would be significant for reducing our emissions (Aitova et Al, 2023).

4 Proposed Windfarm in the centre of the Biosphere is a threat to existing and future biodiversity and the plan for a Biosphere.

This threat to the proposed Biosphere park has the potential to cease the plans completely while undoing the restoration that has already happened. It is also a complete turnaround from what was initially agreed between Bord na Mona and the community (IWT, 2020). When the requirement to shut down all peat extraction was announced Bord na Mona told the community the bogs would be returned to the communities for them to manage and rewild (IWT, 2020). The threat this windfarm poses on the biosphere park is of many parts –
Firstly in order to construct the windfarm the bog needs to be redrained and made dry again and the extra machinery traffic and construction work is an added threat. Bord na Mona has already been draining in the area this despite their initial planning permission being overturned (IWT, 2020) and it is already impacting on the populations of birds, flora and fauna that had reestablished themselves when extraction stopped (IWT,2020). The windfarm will also impact on the birds in the future as the birds who have been re-establishing themselves – whopper swans and cranes are particularly vulnerable to the impact of a windfarm, the activity will also prohibit many other species from re-establishing themselves and it has the added impact on the proposal of a biosphere and all that that would achieve (IWT,2020).

Key attribute that is currently under threat and needs attention
The key attribute that is under threat is the biosphere itself and the biodiversity within if the proposed windfarm is successful (IWT, 2020). As stated above at each stage it is a threat and it is for that reason it was opposed and the planning permission squashed (IWT,2020). It is unfortunate that the community are being ignored. In the report, Ireland’s Just Transition – A report on the perceptions of impacted communities in Ireland, undertaken after the closure of the ESB and Bord na Mona businesses in the area the findings which have been seemingly ignored were :

The people overwhelmingly support the construction of the Mid Shannon Wilderness Park in the area. They feel that the Mid Shannon Wilderness Park would
be a good fit with the communities, that is, economically, environmentally, socially,
and culturally. In terms of energy generation in the area, support for the solar farms
far outweighs the community support for the Derryadd Wind Farm, as the Derryadd Wind Farm is seen as least fitting with local social, cultural, economic, and environmental conditions (UCD Energy Institute, 2020).

It is unfortunate that various experts are taking the view that having the windfarms on the depleted raised bogs of the midlands is the lesser evil to suffer as long as other boglands are protected instead of advocating that all be protected (F. Renou-Wilson and C.A. Farrell ). The community however are not going to give up and will continue to push for the biodiversity of the area and a safe habitat for all, including their families (IWT, 2020).

Conservation Strategy to address the challenges facing this attribute
Four key priorities for the next five years.

1. To mitigate risks to the key attribute
   Ideally the bogs would be handed over to the communities to take care of them as was initially suggested. They have the landscape and stories embedded in their culture and they are aware of the huge environmental cost that impacted the area for the industrialised peat extraction which employed so many and sustained the local economy. They are prepared to give back to nature in the form of a protected biosphere.
   While this may seem an unlikely outcome there is precedence in indigenous people all over the world managing sites such as the Sami people in Sweden having the majority vote on the management board of the Laponian region (Lindstrand, 2012). The local Irish community also have a tradition with their landscape and a long history of community groups and volunteering together with a love for the area and a need to leave a legacy for their children’s children who when they ask what did you do will be able to see it for themselves.
   If this is to happen communication and cooperation with Bord na Mona and government is key while maintaining a strong stance. Many groups such as Friends of the Earth and The Irish Wildlife Trust are already giving their backing to the community. Petitions to include these bogs in protected zones, to lobby government and EU and inform on the benefits vs the damage could be a start and build on that. The community will possibly need training in environmental activism.
   A Second action for mitigation is to ensure the draining stops immediately. This is ongoing and being ignored by those in authority despite the initial planning permission being squashed. It should have not been happening before and it should have stopped immediately on the decision of The High Court (IWT,2023). The picture below shows the ongoing draining that is pumping the water from bogs at the site of the Shannon Wilderness Park – releasing carbon, polluting water and keeping wildlife away (IWT, 2023)

2. To ensure the long-term preservation of the site’s attribute(s)
   The proposal for a UNESCO site will need to be moved further along its journey.
   As with other sites and what was planned for this site initially the next step once planning permission is refused and the park is negotiated to be managed by the community in conjunction with Bord na Mona the drains need to be filled in and a walkway that keeps the public from walking on the delicate mosses with viewing platforms can be installed keeping the impact as little as possible at all times. Knowledgeable and trained staff would be required to maintain and protect the area and these would liase with the OPW site at Corlea Trackway and County Longford Wildlife Ranger.
3. To research and monitor the site’s attribute(s)
   Cooperation between all the partners – the various local authorities, the OPW, Bord na Mona, Longford Wildlife Ranger and establishing ties with networks such as the Community Wetlands Forum, other European and International bodies, third level institutions and secondary schools and the general public will be needed to research and monitor and prepare data on the site.
4. To advocate best practice in conservation approaches This site has the potential to become a model for the rest of the world to copy which is not an unreasonable aspiration, there are two biospheres in the Republic of Ireland to liase with and there is a body of educated and knowledgeable people many in the community and former employees of Bord na Mona. The community has many experts available to guide the way including County Longford Wildlife Ranger who has been working on the site protecting many breeds of birds, flora and fauna and the OPW site at Corlea . The Mid Shannon Wilderness Park Awareness group with chairperson Niall Dennigan have been working on this since before the idea was publicised by Longford County Council and have networked with many groups and advocates to ensure it will happen for their local environment and community.

Conclusion
In the legend, Tochmarc Étaíne, mentioned at the beginning of this report, some five thousand years ago, the host were reputed to have said when creating the Iron Age Causeway in the bog :

Put in hand, throw in hand, excellent oxen,
in the hours after sundown; overhard is the exaction;
none knoweth whose is the gain, whose the loss,
from the causeway over Móin Lámraige
(CELT, 2005).

Perhaps the gods were telling us to leave the bog alone and it is time to listen.

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(Note: Researched and originally written for a project while studying for MSc in World Heritage Conservation in UCD).