Some of Europe’s most unique coastal habitats on Gweedore and Horn Head in Donegal are included in a €7.4m nature project announced this week.
The ‘LIFE on Machair’ initiative, which will protect vulnerable wading birds such as the Curlew, was launched on Friday on World Curlew Day 2023.
The project, which will run until 2028, is primarily aimed at the delivery of environmental and social benefits for people and nature through the conservation and restoration of machair habitats and species. It will work on nine sites covering over 5,000 hectares along the western seaboard, from west Connemara in Galway, to South Mayo, Achill Island and the Erris region in northwest Mayo to north Donegal. These target areas represent a sample of Machair sites in Ireland which are important sites for breeding waders and pollinators.
The project is led by the NPWS and co-funded by the European Commission’s LIFE fund. Three Associated Beneficiaries are involved in the project: the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Teagasc and Fáilte Ireland.
Speaking at the launch, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, said: “To ensure long-term success on complex environmental issues, we need to empower and incentivise communities to take action for nature and put them at the heart of the effort. I’m delighted that over 100 farmers have already signed up to take part in LIFE on Machair to restore these special coastal grasslands, which hold enormous biodiversity value. Collaborative approaches like these are the best way to deliver real and enduring results for nature that are good for people as well as wildlife.
“On World Curlew Day, it is particularly welcome news that, through the project, participants will also support the protection of some of our most threatened wading birds, such as the Lapwing, Dunlin, Snipe and Redshank, which breed in these habitats, and of course, the much-loved Curlew, which is a winter visitor.
“I’d like to congratulate the project team on what promises to be a hugely impactful initiative for nature in this region, and also the participants, who are embarking on a journey as leaders in the national effort to restore nature. They should be heartily commended for their efforts.”
