Multi-level governance and policy contestation: Ambiguity and conflict in the implementation of peatland conservation in Ireland

Bernadette Connaughton

doi:10.24965/gapp.11266

Autores/as

Bernadette Connaughton University of Limerick. Department of Politics and Public Administration (Irlanda – Ireland) https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6362-5110

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24965/gapp.11266

Palabras clave:

directiva hábitat, implementación, Irlanda, gobierno multinivel, turbera

Resumen

La biodiversidad representa uno de los ámbitos más controvertidos de la gobernanza medioambiental. Objetivos: El cumplimiento del marco normativo de la UE se recoge en la Directiva sobre hábitats (92/43/CEE) y en la designación de zonas especiales de conservación, lo que ha suscitado contestación en las relaciones entre autoridades públicas, agricultores y terratenientes locales en todos los niveles de gobernanza. Metodología: Utilizando el modelo de ambigüedad-conflicto de Matland como lente para ver la experiencia de aplicación, el debate utiliza documentación oficial y fuentes bibliográficas para explorar el cumplimiento por parte de Irlanda de la normativa de la UE sobre biodiversidad con referencia a las turberas. Resultados: Este artículo utiliza el caso de Irlanda para analizar la aplicación inadecuada que dio lugar a prolongados procedimientos judiciales que culminaron en una sentencia desfavorable contra el Estado irlandés el 29 de junio de 2023. En el asunto C-444/21, el Tribunal de Justicia de la Unión Europea (TJUE) dictaminó que Irlanda había incumplido las obligaciones que le incumbían en virtud de la directiva, a saber, la designación adecuada de una red Natura 2000 de lugares para hábitats importantes y un régimen de protección de los mismos. En el centro de los debates irlandeses sobre la directiva de hábitats está la protección de las turberas elevadas, que ha dado lugar a considerables conflictos, politización y prolongadas negociaciones entre los cortadores de turba y las autoridades públicas a nivel nacional y local. Conclusiones: El debate pone de relieve las dificultades para cambiar actitudes y prácticas arraigadas en la gestión de la conservación de la naturaleza en tierras de propiedad privada y para garantizar el compromiso de colaboración con las partes interesadas.

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Biografía del autor/a

Bernadette Connaughton, University of Limerick. Department of Politics and Public Administration (Irlanda – Ireland)

Bernadette Connaughton is a Senior Lecturer in Public Administration at the Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Limerick. Her main research interests include politico-administrative relations, Ireland’s relationship with the EU, and environmental governance. She has published on those areas and with particular attention to Irish public administration in authored, co-authored, and edited books, and journals such as Public Administration, Irish Political Studies Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, Regional and Federal Studies, and Administration.

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