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

Bernadette Connaughton

doi:10.24965/gapp.11266

Authors

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

Keywords:

habitats directive, implementation, Ireland, multi-level governance, peat

Abstract

Biodiversity represents one of the most controversial areas of environmental governance. Objectives: Compliance with the EU regulatory framework is contained in the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) and in the designation of special areas of conservation which has prompted contestation in relationships between public authorities, farmers, and local landholders across all levels of governance. Methodology: Using Matland’s ambiguity-conflict model as a lens to view the implementation experience, the discussion uses official documentation and literature sources to explore Ireland’s compliance with EU biodiversity regulation with reference to peatlands. Results: This article uses the case of Ireland to explore inadequate implementation which led to prolonged legal proceedings culminating in an unfavourable judgement against the Irish state on 29th June 2023. In Case C-444/21 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that Ireland failed to fulfil its obligations under the directive, namely the appropriate designation of a Natura 2000 network of sites for important habitat and a protection regime for them. Central to Irish debates on the habitats directive is the protection of raised bogs which has resulted in considerable conflict, politicisation, and prolonged negotiations between peat-cutters and public authorities at national and local levels. Conclusions: The discussion highlights the difficulties in changing ingrained attitudes and practices for managing nature conservation in privately owned land and in securing collaborative engagement with stakeholders.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

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.

References

Andrews, C. S. (2001). Man of no property. Lilliput Press.

Banerjee, A., & Schuitema, G. (2023). Spatial justice as a prerequisite for a just transition in rural areas? The case study from the Irish peatlands. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 41(6), 1096-1112. https://doi.org/10.1177/23996544231173210

Beunen, R., & Duineveld, M. (2010). Divergence and convergence in policy meanings of European environmental policies: The case of the birds and habitats directives. International Planning Studies, 15(4), 321-333. https://doi.org/10.1080/13563475.2010.517379

Bresnihan, P., & Brodie, P. (2023). Data sinks, carbon services: Waste, storage and energy cultures on Ireland’s peat bogs. New Media and Society, 25(2), 361-383. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221149948

Bryan, S. (2012). Contested boundaries, contested places: The Natura 2000 network in Ireland. Journal of Rural Studies, 28(1), 80-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2011.09.002

Citizens’ Assembly (2023, April 5). Final report of the Citizens’ Assembly on biodiversity loss launches. Government Publications OPW. https://citizensassembly.ie/report-of-the-citizens-assembly-on-biodiversity-loss-report-launches/

Coleman, A., Billings, J., Allen, P., Mikelyte, R., Croke, S., Macinnes, J., & Checkland, K. (2021). Ambiguity and conflict in policy implementation: The case of the New Care Models (Vanguard) Programme in England. Journal of Social Policy, 50(2), 285-304. http://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279420000082

Connaughton, B. (2019). The Implementation of environmental policy in Ireland: Lessons from translating EU directives into action. Manchester University Press.

Connaughton, B., & Devane, C. (2023). “Best advice available”. Challenge and change in developing an optimal policy advisory system in Ireland. Administration, 71(3), 35-61. https://doi.org/10.2478/admin-2023-0016

Craig, A. (2001). The role of the state in protecting natural areas in Ireland: 30 years of progress. Biology and Environment Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 101B(1/2), 141-149.

deLeon, P., & deLeon, L. (2002). What ever happened to policy implementation? An alternative approach. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 12(4), 467-492. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jpart.a003544

DoCHandG (2017). National raised bog special areas of conservation management plan 2017-2022. Department of Culture, Heritage and Gaeltachta. https://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/files/FOR%20UPLOAD%20Plan(WEB_English)_05_02_18%20(1).pdf

DoCHandG (2019). Ireland: 6th national report to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Department of Culture, Heritage and Gaeltachta. https://www.npws.ie/news/ireland%E2%80%99s-6th-national-report-un-convention-biological-diversity-released

Ellis, K. (2015). Personalisation, ambiguity and conflict: Matland’s model of policy implementation and the “transformation” of adult social care in England. Policy and Politics, 43(2), 239-254. https://doi.org/10.1332/030557312X655828

EPA (2020). Ireland’s environment: An integrated assessment. Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.ie/our-services/monitoring--assessment/assessment/irelands-environment/state-of-environment-report-/

European Commission (2022, September 29). September infringement package key decisions. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/inf_22_5402

European Union (2023, June 29). Document 62021CJ0444 Judgement of the Court (Second Chamber) of 29 June 2023. European Commission v Ireland. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:62021CJ0444

Fernández Valverde, F., MacGowan, F., Farrell, M., Crowley, W., Croal, Y., Fanning, M. and McKee, A. M. (2006). Assessment of impacts of turf cutting on designated raised bogs: A report to the research section of National Parks and Wildlife Service. Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. https://www.npws.ie/protected-sites/nha/001853

Fluet-Chouinard, E., Stocker, B. D., Zhang, Z., Malhotra, A., Melton, J. R., Poulter, B., Kaplan, J. O., Goldewijk, K. K., Siebert, S., Minayeva, T., Hugelius, G., Joosten, H., Barthelmes, A., Prigent, C., Aires, F., Hoyt, A. M., Davidson, N., Finlayson, C. M., Lehner, B. et al. (2023). Extensive global wetland loss over the past three centuries. Nature, (614), 281-286. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05572-6

Grist, B. (1997). Wildlife legislation: The rocky road to special areas of conservation surveyed. Irish Planning and Environmental Law Journal, (4), 87-96.

Häyrynen, S., Devery, C., & Banerjee, A. (2021). Contested bogs in Ireland: A viewpoint on climate change responsiveness in local culture. In G. Martinez (ed.), Culture and Climate Resilience: Perspectives from Europe (pp. 69-95). Palgrave MacMillan.

Heidbreder, E. G. (2017). Strategies in multilevel policy implementation: moving beyond the limited focus on compliance. Journal of European Public Policy, 24(9), 1367-1384. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2017.1314540

Henle, K., Alard, D., Clitherow, J., Cobb, P., Firbank, L., Kull, T., McCracken, D., Moritz, R., Niemelä, J., Rebane, M., Wascher, D., Watt, A., & Young, J. (2008). Identifying and managing the conflicts between agriculture and biodiversity conservation in Europe–A review. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 124(1-2), 60-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2007.09.005

Hill, M., & Hupe, P. (2022). Implementing Public Policy (4.ª ed.). Sage Publications.

Hjern, B., & Porter, D. O. (1981). Implementation structures: A new unit of administrative analysis. Organization Studies, 2(3), 211-227. https://doi.org/10.1177/017084068100200301

Hordern, J. (2015). An unfinished experiment: ambiguity and conflict in the implementation of higher skills policy. Research Papers in Education, 30(2), 248-265. http://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2013.879335

Houses of the Oireachtas (2019). Report of the Joint Committee on Climate Action, Climate Change: A Cross-party Consensus for Action. Houses of the Oireachtas. https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/committee/dail/32/joint_committee_on_climate_action/reports/2019/2019-03-28_report-climate-change-a-cross-party-consensus-for-action_en.pdf

Hupe, P. (2010). The thesis of incongruent implementation: Revisiting Pressman and Wildavsky. Public Policy and Administration, 26(1), 63-80. https://doi.org/10.1177/0952076710367717

IPCC (2023). Climate change 2023 synthesis report: Summary for policymakers. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_SYR_SPM.pdf

Knox, C., O’Connor, K., Ketola, M., & Carmichael, P. (2023). EU PEACE funding: The policy implementation deficit. European Policy Analysis, (9), 290-310. https://doi.org/10.1002/epa2.1177

Laffan, B., & O’Mahony, J. (2008). “Bringing politics back in”. Domestic conflict and the negotiated implementation of EU nature conservation legislation in Ireland. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, 10(2), 175-197. https://doi.org/10.1080/15239080801928428

Matland, R. E. (1995). Synthesizing the implementation literature: The ambiguity-conflict model of policy implementation. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 5(2), 145-174.

McGrath, M., & McGonagle, H. (2016). Exploring “wicked problems” from an occupational perspective: The case of turf cutting in rural Ireland. Journal of Occupational Science, 23(3), 308-320. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2016.1169437

O’Connell, C. A., Madigan, N., Whyte, T., & Farrell, P. (2021). Peatlands and climate change. Action plan 2030. Irish Peatland Conservation Council. http://www.ipcc.ie/a-to-z-peatlands/irelands-peatland-conservation-action-plan/peatlands-climate-change-action-plan-2030/

O’Riordan, M., Mahon, M., & McDonagh, J. (2015). Power, discourse and participation in nature conflicts: The case of turf cutters in the governance of Ireland’s raised bog designations. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, 17(1), 127-145. https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2014.914895

O’Riordan, M., McDonagh, J., & Mahon, M. (2016). Local knowledge and environmentality in legitimacy discourses on Irish peatlands regulation. Land Use Policy, (59), 423-433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.07.036

O’Riordan, M., McDonagh, J., & Mahon, M. (2019). Unlikely alliances? Knowledge, power and the collaborative governance of Irish peatlands. Geoforum, (100), 188-198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.01.010

O’Sullivan, K. (2023, June 29). “A damning indictment”: European court finds Ireland failed to implement EU habits directive. The Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/environment/2023/06/29/european-court-finds-ireland-failed-to-implement-eu-habitats-directive/#:~:text=In%20a%20judgment%20on%20Thursday,all%20significant%20pressures%20and%20threats%E2%80%9D

Pressman, J. L., & Wildavsky, A. (1973). Implementation. University of California Press.

Quirke, J. (2012). The Quirke Report: Peatlands Forum 2012. Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht. https://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/QUIRKE%20REPORT.pdf

Renou-Wilson, F., Bolger, T., Bullock, C., Convery, F., Curry, J., Ward, S., Wilson, D., & Müller, C. (2011). Bogland: Sustainable management of peatlands in Ireland. Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.ie/publications/research/land-use-soils-and-transport/bogland-sustainable-management-of-peatlands-in-ireland-final-report.php

Sabatier, P. A. (1986). Top-down and bottom-up approaches to implementation research: A critical analysis and suggested synthesis. Journal of Public Policy, 6(1), 21-48.

Stout, J. C., & Ó’Cinnéide, M. (2021). A report to the National Parks and Wildlife Service, of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Thomann, E. (2019). Customization, adaptive implementation, and the “European experience”. In E. Thomann (aut.), Customized implementation of European Union food safety policy: United in diversity? (pp. 187-221). Palgrave Macmillan.

Thomann, E., & Sager, F. (2017). Moving beyond legal compliance: Innovative approaches to EU multilevel implementation. Journal of European Public Policy, 24(9), 1253-1268. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2017.1314541

UN (2023). The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023: Special edition. United Nations. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2023/

Versluis, E. (2007). Even rules, uneven practices: Opening the “black box” of EU law in action. West European Politics, 30(1), 50-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402380601019647

Winter, S. C. (2015). Implementation perspectives: status and reconsiderations. In B. G. Peters, & J. Pierre (eds.), Handbook of Public Administration (2.ª ed.) (pp. 204-224). Sage Publications.

WWF (2022, April 8). Doñana: 30 NGOs urge the EU to protect park form water theft. World Wildlife Fund. https://www.wwf.eu/?6384941/Donana-30-NGOs-urge-the-EU-to-protect-park-from-water-theft

Young, J. C., Marzano, M., White, R. M., McCracken, D. I., Redpath, S. M., Carss, D. N., Quine, C. P., & Watt, A. D. (2010). The emergence of biodiversity conflicts from biodiversity impacts: characteristics and management strategies. Biodiversity and Conservation, (19), 3973-3990. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-010-9941-7

Zarb, S., & Taylor, K. (2023). Uneven local implementation of federal policy after disaster: Policy conflict and goal ambiguity. Review of Policy Research, 40(1), 63-87. https://doi.org/10.1111/ropr.12478

Zhelyazkova, A., & Thomann, E. (2022). “I did it my way”: Customisation and practical compliance with EU policies. Journal of European Public Policy, 29(3), 427-447. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2020.1859599