The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released an online tool in May to assist those involved in Appropriate Assessment. The bespoke GeoTool was developed by the EPA, in partnership with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, to automate and streamline part of the data gathering process needed for such assessment.
the Appropriate Assessment determines the potential adverse effects of a plan or project on Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas, sites that are protected by National and European legislation.
The GeoTool (available on the website) provides a valuable visual aid allowing a user to search for all Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas within a user-specified distance, a critical step in an Appropriate Assessment. The tool uses data directly from a database provided by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Dr Ciaran O'Keeffe, NPWS Scientific Unit said: "The NPWS is committed to producing and sharing quality scientific data and information on the Irish environment and biodiversity. The new EPA application is a really useful tool which enables users to access all the relevant NPWS information in a very efficient way."
Are you wondering why we're discussing legislation in the Republic of Ireland? Watch this space...
