Additional funding of €680,000 to facilitate increased participation of farmers in the Wild Atlantic Nature project has been announced.
The pilot project is designed to test the efficacy of locally-adapted results-based agri-environment programmes in upland and high nature value areas, such as those dominated by blanket bog.
Results from the project, which is running in 2021 and 2022, will inform the development and implementation of the next CAP measures for Ireland from 2023 onward, according to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Speaking about the expansion of the pilot programme, Minister of State at the Department of Housing Malcolm Noonan said:
“It is essential that we continue to improve Ireland’s performance in conserving important habitats such as blanket bog.
“Farmers and local communities are central to any conservation efforts and we must ensure that any decisions around peatland management works for them.
“This means investing in the skills and knowledge of those living and working in these areas and supporting incomes to make farming viable.”
Results-based payment scheme
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Pippa Hackett added:
“We have already seen the benefits, both to the environment and indeed to farmers, of results-based schemes through my department’s EIPs; but further information and experience will be key to making their integration into the next CAP a success.
“As we become more flexible in our thinking about what constitutes a ‘productive farm’, we should see farmers being properly rewarded for both food production and protecting farmed habitats along with the environmental services they provide. The Wild Atlantic Nature project will be an example of that.”
The Wild Atlantic Nature results-based payment scheme rewards participating farmers for environmental performance by linking payments to the habitat quality, with higher environmental scores receiving greater payments.
The project also supports farmers (or groups of farmers) to carry out actions to improve the habitat quality.
Project manager Derek McLoughlin explained that 70 farmers in the Owenduff/Nephin SAC were initially sought to participate in 2021, however, “we received almost three times as many expressions of interest”.
He said the additional funding will enable them to increase the number of participants “to more than 800 across our selected project areas this year and next”.
“It will also ensure that we can test the results-based approach at the landscape level in preparation for the next CAP,” he added.
Wild Atlantic Nature LIFE IP
Applications to the pilot are closed for 2021 and will open for additional farmers in selected areas in the north-west in 2022.
The final selection of participants is based on a number of criteria including extent of land in target sites and notable presence of ecologically important features. Farmers with private and/or commonage land are welcome to apply.
The Wild Atlantic Nature LIFE IP, a nine-year EU-funded LIFE Integrated Project, is coordinated by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and will focus on 24 blanket bog project sites in counties Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo and Galway.