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Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht will, on Tuesday 15 May 2012, open the first Eurobats Advisory Committee Meeting to be held in Ireland. Bat experts from all over Europe, the Middle East and North Africa are meeting this week in Dublin Castle. The group of experts are gathering under the auspices of Eurobats, an international agreement which focuses exclusively on the protection of bats in Europe. The meeting will examine how best to protect bats during the development of windfarms, road infrastructure and forestry practises; they will also be discussing best practise for monitoring bats and the latest developments in bat diseases and bat tracking technology.

Commenting on the meeting, Minister Deenihan said: “Eurobats plays an important role in bat conservation and awareness across Europe and now also in the Middle East and North Africa. Your working groups provide the forum for some of the most important discussions and debates about bat conservation and management anywhere in the world. And your guideline documents, prepared by the experts gathered in this room, provide international best practise advice to bats conservationists, heritage officers, developers and policy-makers across Europe and beyond.”

There are only 9 species of bats in Ireland and all of them are protected under Irish and EU law. But there are 52 species of bats identified in Europe, and in some countries bat conservation is in its infancy and bats are still persecuted. Eurobats works through legislation, education and conservation measures to foster international co-operation right across Europe and the Middle East. Because some European bat species are now known to migrate across the Mediterranean, North African countries have recently been included in the Eurobats agreement. In total 62 countries are now included as range states in the Eurobats Agreement.

Minister Deenihan continued: “There is a growing awareness in Ireland, among both the farming and urban communities,” he continued “of the importance of ecosystem services. The value of bats, for example in natural pest control, is one of the messages we are now working to get across to the members of the public.”

Minister Deenihan also took the opportunity to highlight the work being done in Ireland by Bat Conservation Ireland. “Many thousands of people have been introduced to the joys of bats through the bat walks and bat talks organised by Bat Conservation Ireland over the years” he said. “This dedicated group of volunteers has also been working closely with the National Parks & Wildlife Service of my Department, and together they have developed a comprehensive and robust national monitoring programme for Irish bats.”

Mr Andreas Streit, Executive Secretary of the Eurobats Agreement said he was delighted to be in Ireland: “This is our first time meeting in Ireland” he said “and we are very pleased to be here. Ireland has made significant progress in bat conservation in the last ten years and is now a leading example to other countries in terms of bat monitoring and bat research.”

The meeting continues until Thursday 17th May.

Ends

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Notes for editors:

The Agreement on the Conservation of Populations of European Bats (EUROBATS) came into force in 1994, and to date 33 states have signed the agreement. Ireland was one of the first to sign up, in 1993.

EUROBATS is a United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and was set up under the International Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) - also known as the Bonn Convention.

The Bonn Convention recognises that endangered migratory animals can only be properly protected if conservation activities are carried out over the entire migratory range of the species. Some bat species, like birds, migrate long distances between summer and winter roosts (e.g. from Estonia to France; Germany to Spain; Italy to Tunisia). Irish species are largely sedentary.

We have only 9 species of bats in Ireland. The Eurobats Agreement aims to protect all 52 species of bats identified in Europe, through legislation, education, conservation measures and international co-operation across all 62 range states. Because some European bat species migrate across the Mediterranean, North African countries have recently been included in the Eurobats agreement. A full list of the range states, showing which ones have signed up to the Agreement, is included in Appendix 1

The Eurobats Advisory Committee (AC) meets once a year in a different country. This is its first time meeting in Ireland. The Advisory Committee is composed of bat experts from range states. There will be 78 participants at the Dublin meeting, representing 42 different countries.

The Advisory Committee is chaired by Mr Peter Lina from the Netherlands; the vice-chair is Dr Ferdia Marnell, from Ireland.

Much of the AC’s work is done in Intersessional Working Groups. 13 separate working groups will meet during the Dublin meeting. They are examining bat related issues as varied as Sustainable Forestry, Light Pollution, Infrastructure Development, Lethal Fungal Infections, Managing bat feeding areas, monitoring bat migrations etc.

Arising from the discussions in these Working groups, EUROBATS produces Guidance Documents. To date four guidance documents have been published providing best international practice advice on bat monitoring, on the protection of underground bat roosts, on managing bat issues during wind farm developments and on the protection of roosts in heritage buildings. These booklets are published in French, German and Russian as well as English and are widely circulated, for free, right across Europe. They are also available online:

EUROBATS also plays a significant role in raising awareness of bats, their need for protection and their value in ecosystem servicing. They produce numerous leaflets and posters aimed at schoolchildren and policy makers. Each year they also coordinate Bat Night – a celebration of bats through bat walks and bat talks and other bat-related activities – in countries right across Europe.

For Further details

Dr Ferdia Marnell, Irish delegate to Eurobats and vice-chair of the Advisory Committee. 087-6697109

Photos of bats to illustrate this piece can be arranged through NPWS; contact DAHG Press Office.

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