The Lough Boora Parklands project on cutaway bogland in West Offaly Ireland: regional ecological, economic and social benefits

Authors:
Thomas Egan

Book:
After Wise Use – The Future of Peatlands, Proceedings of the 13th International Peat Congress: Peatland After-Use

Keywords:
bord-na-mona, communities, cutaway-bogland, land-use-plan, landscape, lough-boora-parklands

Documentfile:
Egan 2008: The Lough Boora Parklands project on cutaway bogland

Summary:

The Lough Boora Parklands project is a pilot project developed on cutaway bogland on one of Bord na Móna’s production complexes from which peat was harvested for energy purposes over four decades. When industrial peat production ceased the area that emerged was a bare landscape. The challenge was to develop a land use plan for this area that would maximise its potential benefit for the regions communities and also its wildlife. This paper describes some of the aspects of the Lough Boora Parklands, particularly the community involvement and the role the cutaway boglands can play in the national wildlife resource.