Sea Environmental Report Draft Burren and Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience Development Plan

SEA ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT FOR THE DRAFT BURREN AND CLIFFS OF MOHER VISITOR EXPERIENCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN for: Fáilte Ireland 88-95 Amiens Street Dublin 1 by: CAAS Ltd. 1st Floor 24-26 Ormond Quay Upper Dublin 7 OCTOBER 2019 SEA Environmental Report for the Draft Burren and Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience Development Plan Table of Contents List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................v Glossary ...................................................................................................................vi SEA Introduction and Background ..................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction and Terms of Reference ........................................................................... 1 1.2 SEA Definition ............................................................................................................ 1 1.3 SEA Directive and its transposition into Irish Law .......................................................... 1 1.4 Implications for the Plan ............................................................................................. 1 The Draft Plan .................................................................................... 3 2.1 Overview ................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 Relationship with other relevant Plans and Programmes ................................................ 4 SEA Methodology ............................................................................... 6 3.1 Introduction to the Iterative Approach ......................................................................... 6 3.2 Appropriate Assessment and Integrated Biodiversity Impact Assessment ......................... 7 3.3 Scoping ..................................................................................................................... 7 3.4 Alternatives ............................................................................................................... 8 3.5 Environmental Report ................................................................................................. 8 3.6 The SEA Statement .................................................................................................... 8 3.7 Difficulties Encountered .............................................................................................. 8 Environmental Baseline ................................................................... 10 4.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................10 4.2 Geographical Scope of the Assessment........................................................................10 4.3 National Reporting on the Environment .......................................................................10 4.4 Sustainable Development Goals ..................................................................................10 4.5 Likely Evolution of the Environment in the Absence of the Plan .....................................11 4.6 Biodiversity and Flora and Fauna ................................................................................13 4.7 Population and Human Health ....................................................................................23 4.8 Soil .......................................................................................................................... 23 4.9 Water .......................................................................................................................28 4.10 Air and Climatic Factors .............................................................................................33 4.11 Material Assets ..........................................................................................................35 4.12 Cultural Heritage .......................................................................................................37 4.13 Landscape ................................................................................................................40 Strategic Environmental Objectives ................................................ 43 Description of Alternatives .............................................................. 46 6.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................46 6.2 Current Situation (Alternative 1: Business as Usual) .....................................................46 6.3 Prepare a Plan (Alternatives 2A and 2B: Prepare a Plan) ...............................................46 Evaluation of Alternatives ................................................................ 48 7.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................48 7.2 Methodology .............................................................................................................48 7.3 Cumulative Effects .....................................................................................................50 CAAS for Fáilte Ireland i SEA Environmental Report for the Draft Burren and Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience Development Plan 7.4 Detailed Consideration of Alternatives .........................................................................52 7.5 Selected Alternative for the Plan .................................................................................55 Evaluation of Draft Plan Provisions ................................................. 58 8.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................58 8.2 Overall Findings ........................................................................................................60 8.3 Appropriate Assessment .............................................................................................66 8.4 Interrelationship between Environmental Components ..................................................66 8.5 More Detailed Assessment of Plan Provisions ...............................................................68 Mitigation Measures ......................................................................... 79 9.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................79 9.2 Establishing the status of the Plan and its interrelationship with the Statutory Decision- Making and Consent-Granting Framework ................................................................................79 9.3 Integrating Requirements for Environmental Protection and Management into the Plan ...80 Monitoring Measures ....................................................................... 82 10.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................82 10.2 Indicators and Targets ...............................................................................................82 10.3 Sources ....................................................................................................................82 10.4 Reporting and Responsibility ......................................................................................82 Appendix I SEA Determination ............................................................................. 86 Appendix II Relationship with Legislation and Other Plans and Programmes .... 87 Appendix III Non-Technical Summary……………………………..…Separately bound CAAS for Fáilte Ireland ii SEA Environmental Report for the Draft Burren and Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience Development Plan List of Figures Figure 3.1 Overview of the SEA/AA/Plan-preparation Processes ....................................................... 6 Figure 4.1 Area to which the Plan relates (Figure 1 from the VEDP) ............................................... 12 Figure 4.2 European Sites within and adjacent to the area to which the Plan relates ....................... 19 Figure 4.3 Other Ecological Designations within and adjacent to the area to which the Plan relates .. 20 Figure 4.4 CORINE Land Cover Mapping 2018 ............................................................................. 21 Figure 4.5 WFD Register of Protected Areas ................................................................................ 22 Figure 4.6 Soils ......................................................................................................................... 26 Figure 4.7 Geological Heritage ................................................................................................... 27 Figure 4.8 Surface Water Status (2010-2015) .............................................................................. 31 Figure 4.9 Groundwater Vulnerability .......................................................................................... 32 Figure 4.10 Archaeological and Architectural Heritage .................................................................. 39 Figure 4.11 Landscape Designations ........................................................................................... 42 CAAS for Fáilte Ireland iii SEA Environmental Report for the Draft Burren and Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience Development Plan List of Tables Table 3.1 Checklist of Information included in this Environmental Report ......................................... 9 Table 4.1 European Sites within and adjacent to the area to which

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