National Survey of Upland Habitats – Phase 5

Tender description

The role of National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (DCHG) is to make the necessary arrangements for the implementation of national and European Union (EU) legislation and policies and a range of international Conventions and Agreements relating to nature conservation in Ireland. This includes, among other things, securing the conservation of a representative range of habitats in Ireland through survey and designation of sites to protect habitats, flora and fauna.. This RFT is for the provision of Phase 5 of the National Survey of Upland Habitats with regard to the four SACs specified in Table 2 on the RFT document. Uplands have been formed by powerful geological and biological processes modified by centuries of human activity. In terms of locations of semi-natural habitats the uplands may be broadly defined as land that occurs on hills and mountains above enclosed farmland, typically above 150 m in altitude. Ireland’s semi-natural upland habitats include blanket bogs, heaths, flushes and springs, un-improved grasslands and areas of exposed rock and scree. In the west of the country uplands are often contiguous with areas of heath and lowland blanket bog which, it should be noted, as associated habitats are included in this survey. Upland and associated habitats often occur as mosaics with transitions, over short distances from one to the next, mirroring changes in topography, microclimate, edaphic conditions, hydrology and/or land management. Many land uses and activities in uplands e.g. afforestation, intensive sheep farming, unregulated burning of vegetation, peat extraction, and wind energy and other infrastructural developments have resulted in widespread habitat degradation and also habitat loss. See RfT document for full details.