The increasing trend of erecting miniature dolmens is irreversibly damaging the Burren's fragile limestone pavement, it has been claimed.

The Burren Connect Project and Clare County Council have launched a pilot environmental maintenance programme aimed at removing the structures and highlighting the damage caused to the world famous karst landscape.

The programme will also maintain parking areas and viewing points developed by Burren Connect as part of an overall visitor management strategy.

According to the project team, the erection of hundreds of stone structures at the lands adjacent to a viewing point at Ballyallaban, near Ballyvaughan, has damaged the surrounding limestone pavement.

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"Unique and vulnerable habitats are being destroyed by visitors when they illegally remove protected limestone pavement to build miniature dolmens and other stone structures," said Project Manager Carol Gleeson.

"However, we believe that most visitors do not want to deliberately damage the Burren pavements, as they do not realise the full environmental impacts of their actions."

She continued: "We must approach and deal with this issue as with any case of vandalism. The most effective way to do this is to remove the structures as they appear and increase public awareness."

Local landowner Mary Davoren O'Regan welcomed the new initiative.

She said: "Most of the Burren is private property and landowners would appreciate it if visitors respected this fact. It is very frustrating to have your property damaged in such a way.

"We are in a unique and special area that is protected by EU legislation and I wish visitors had a better understanding of the fragility of the pavements and how important it is to care for this special landscape."

(PR/BMcc)