Over €20 million in funding will be provided over the next four years to tackle the decline in priority species and habitats in Northern Ireland and the border counties of the Republic of Ireland.

The cross-border project, titled PeacePlus Nature, will work to restore blanket bog, lowland wet grassland and limestone grassland; and priority species from breeding waders to the Marsh Fritillary butterfly.

It will be implemented by a coalition led by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Northern Ireland, and will comprise: BirdWatch Ireland; Butterfly Conservation; Monaghan County Council; River Blackwater Catchment Trust; Truagh Development Association; Lough Neagh Partnership; NI Water; and An Taisce.

Birdwatch Ireland said its role in the project "will be the protection and conservation of breeding waders, particularly at sites in Co. Donegal".

The organisation said it has been working on these sites since 2011, carrying out surveys and monitoring, as well as engaging with farmers "to increase their knowledge and understanding of breeding waders" and work with them on developing habitats.

This work with farmers was facilitated by Donegal Acre, which works with farmers and advisors in the Donegal Cooperation Projects (CP) area on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

Birdwatch Ireland has also "arguably most importantly, installed a network of Predator Exclusion Fences (PEFs) across Donegal". 

"These fences exclude mammalian predators such as foxes, badger, and small mustelids from breeding colonies, comprising a physical barrier with electrified wires incorporated into the design," it stated. 

Monitoring carried out by Birdwatch Ireland between 2017-2021 showed a 12% decrease in breeding pairs, due to predation as well as "disturbance, agricultural intensification, wind energy and afforestation".

"However, our monitoring also showed that the presence of a predator fence had a significant positive effect, particularly on Lapwing populations, with some fence sites seeing population increases during the period," the organisation said.

Over the next four years as part of the PeacePlus Nature project, Birdwatch Ireland aims to:

Manage the network of predator fences;
Carry out wardening and management on Tory Island;
Monitor bird populations;
Engage with other stakeholders in the project and the habitat localities.

PeacePlus Nature is part of the PEACEPLUS cross-border initiative, which is also funding collaboration between agricultural shows in Northern Ireland and Ireland, and helping freshwater bodies in cross-border river basins to achieve good or high quality, among other projects.

PEACEPLUS is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) and represents a funding partnership between the European Union, the Irish and British governments, and the Northern Ireland Executive.