Natterjack Toad Farm Planning and Monitoring

Tender description

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), part of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), provides the legislative and policy framework for the conservation of nature and biodiversity in the Republic of Ireland. It also oversees its implementation, based on good science, with particular emphasis on the protection of habitats and species through, among other means, the designation and conservation of sites under EU Directives and national legislation. The Natterjack Toad [Epidalea calamita] is listed on Annex IV of the E.U. Habitats Directive [92/43/EEC] and is also protected under the Wildlife Acts [1976 and 2000]. The species is considered to be Endangered in Ireland and in Unfavourable conservation status. The Natterjack Toad lives at the edge of its climatic range in Ireland and is confined to a small number of coastal sites around the Dingle and Iveragh peninsulas in West Kerry. Recent monitoring contracts provide up to date information on all of the known breeding sites for the species. For more than 10 years the NPWS has been running a Natterjack Toad pond creation scheme in Kerry. Payment in this scheme was dependent on compliance with a number of basic habitat management measures. During 2021, the NPWS is planning to initiate a new results-based farm plan scheme for Natterjack Toads across their natural range in west Kerry. It is anticipated that this new results-based scheme will gradually replace the existing pond creation scheme. To facilitate this new scheme and to provide monitoring data on toad breeding success during 2021, NPWS now invites tenders for the provision of farm planning and toad monitoring services. It is envisaged that the successful team will consist of two people, whose skillsets will complement one another from ecological and agronomic perspectives. See RfT document