Archived press release

Airport threatens international wildlife site

17 May 1999

A formal planning application for the airport expansion is imminent , ironically as the Seventh Meeting of the Conference of Parties of the Ramsar Convention draws to a close in Costa Rica. Government delegates from 114 countries have been discussing the conservation and protection of Ramsar designated wetlands [3].

Craig Bennett Wildlife Campaigner at Friends of the Earth said:

“It is extraordinary that UK Government representatives are currently in Costa Rica to discuss the protection and conservation of wetlands under the Ramsar Convention while back home, plans are being prepared to damage one of the UK's own Ramsar sites. It is yet another example of how desperately we need tough new wildlife laws”.

The planning application being prepared is for an extension of the airport's runway capacity to allow aircraft with heavier payloads to land at Derry City airport. The proposal is expected to result, however, in the loss of part of Lough Foyle as well as disturbance to the feeding habitat of migratory birds.

Commenting Simon McRae, Aviation Campaigner at Friends of the Earth said.

"It would be a tragedy for future generations in Northern Ireland if part of their natural heritage, the internationally significant Lough Foyle, was trashed to accommodate the expansion of the most polluting form of transport - air travel”,[4]

Notes to Editor

[1] Derry City airport was originally established by the Ministry of Defence during the Second World War. It was later taken over by the Derry City Council in 1978 to develop as a commercial airport.Between 1990-1993 £11 million pounds was spent redeveloping the airport including the construction of a new passenger terminal.

The Derry City Council now wish to increase runway capacity by clearing obstructions(ie. aerial masts, trees) and extending the runway safety zones at both ends of their runway. This is expected to include a Runway End Safety Area that will intrude into Lough Foyle. Surface access to the Safety Area from the Lough Foyle foreshore which is likely to disturb the feeding habitat of migratory birds.

[2] The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which encourages national action and international cooperation for the conservation and of wetlands.There are presently 114 Contracting Parties to the Convention, one of which is the UK.

Lough Foyle is situated on the north coast of Northern Ireland and is comprised of a large shallow sea lough which includes the estuaries of the rivers Foyle, Faughan and Roe. The site contains extensive intertidal areas of mudflats and sandflats and associated brackish ditches.

Lough Foyle is designated as an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI), which is the Northern Ireland equivalent of the SSSI designation in the rest of the UK. It is also listed as a Special Protection Area under the EU's Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds (or Birds Directive), as well as qualifying as a Ramsar site.

The wetland supports up to 40,000 migratory birds each winter. It supports internationally important populations of three species in particular; Whooper swan Cygnus cygnus (around 900 individuals or 5.6% of the international population), Light-bellied Brent Goose Branta bernicla hrota (around 3700 individuals or 18.7% if the international population), and Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica (around 1900 or 1.9% of the international population).

[3]. The Seventh Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971), started in San José, Costa Rica on 10th May 1999. It will end on Tuesday 18th May.

[4] Air travel is recognised as the most polluting form of travel with the highest rate of greenhouse emissions per passenger. Unlike motorists, bus companies and rail companies airlines do not pay a fuel tax on aviation fuel.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust