TOP-DOWN AND BOTTOM-UP APPROACHES TO NATURE CONSERVATION AND COUNTRYSIDE MANAGEMENT IN NORTHERN-IRELAND

In Northern Ireland nature conservation and countryside management are administered by central government. The Department of the Environment exercises essentially top-down control by designation of protected ar eas though it increasingly encourages bottom-up local management commi ttees. The Department of Agriculture influences policy principally thr ough bottom-up practices at the individual farm level and through its Rural Development Policy. Both approaches need to be seen as complimen tary components of an integrated strategy.