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Cross-Compliance and Areas of Special Scientific Interest

Alex Gordon, Countryside Management Branch, DARD - 8 March 2007

Since January 2005, all Northern Ireland farmers claiming Single Farm Payment must comply with certain conditions known as Cross-Compliance. One aspect of Cross-Compliance is compliance with Statutory Management Requirements.

Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs)

These are legal requirements covering the environment, food safety, animal and plant health and animal welfare. These requirements apply to all land farmed within an agricultural business, including land which is not used to claim ‘Single Farm Payment’.

Areas of Special Scientific Interest

There are currently 234 Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) throughout Northern Ireland. These areas have been designated by the Environmental Heritage Service (EHS) in order to conserve special plants and animals, or land features that have become rare or threatened. The following SMRs are particularly relevant to ASSIs:

SMR 1 Conservation of Wild Birds

This is to protect our wild birds. To comply you must not:
  • Kill, injure, capture or keep any wild bird without a licence;
  • Destroy, damage, remove or keep their nests or eggs;
  • Disturb birds while nesting.

SMR 2 Conservation of Natural Habitats and Wild Flora and Fauna

This is to help conserve endangered habitats, animals and plants. To comply you must not:
  • Pick, cut, collect, destroy or dig up protected plants;
  • Disturb, kill or injure protected animals, destroy or obstruct their habitats;
  • Introduce invasive non-native species to the wild.
If you have an ASSI on your land you will have been formally notified by the EHS and will be aware of the environmental obligations and legal restrictions that apply. Under these SMRs, farmers who have land within an ASSI must not damage the interests of the site and must receive consent from EHS before carrying out any of the notifiable operations listed in the documents each landowner received when the ASSI was declared. In addition, each farmer must comply with the terms of an agreement to manage land within an ASSI.
Are you complying with these requirements? Examine your current practices to see if any improvements are needed.

Further Information

Further information on Cross-Compliance is available in the Cross-Compliance Verifiable Standards 2005-2006 booklet or by contacting your local Countryside Management Branch staff.
To obtain further information on Areas of Special Scientific Interest contact the Environment and Heritage Service at Tel: 028 9056 9515.