A funding package totaling €2.7 million has been approved for biodiversity projects throughout the country, the Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform has announced today (Wednesday, May 31).
Minister Malcolm Noonan also confirmed that more than €2.5 million will be earmarked for local authorities to carry out biodiversity projects through the Local Biodiversity Action Fund (LBAF).
A further €193,000 has been granted to the natural history recording community through the Small Recording Grants scheme.
A total of 188 community projects across the 31 local authorities have received funding through the LBAF and 67 projects have also received funding through the Small Recording Grants scheme.
Minister Noonan said he was “especially delighted” to confirm details of the funding boost for local projects in Biodiversity Week.
“The Local Biodiversity Action Fund is an enormously impactful scheme that supports local authorities and communities to deliver on Ireland’s national objectives for nature, from invasive species to habitat restoration to awareness-raising to surveys and monitoring work.
“As more and more Biodiversity Officers join the ranks of our local authorities, I know that the benefits for nature and people that this Fund provides are only going to grow,” the minister added.
The Local Biodiversity Action Fund operated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage was first launched in 2018.
Since then, a total of just over €6 million has been granted to local authorities for projects that support actions in the third National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP).
The funding covers a range of biodiversity related activities including: invasive alien species control; dune restoration; wetland surveys; and biodiversity awareness and training.
Projects approved this year include:
- Eight local authorities joining together to monitor the Quagga mussel invasive species in the Shannon;
- Three local authorities supporting the Shannon Dolphin Project, which is 30 years old this year making it one of the longest dolphin studies in Europe;
- Habitat mapping in Cork;
- Development of an Invasive Alien Species Strategy for Galway City Council.
The Small Recording Grants scheme helps established naturalists recording in Ireland to “maintain and enhance” their expertise in species identification, and to develop the next generation of natural history recorders.
Minister Noonan said it was “fantastic to be able to fund these local initiatives once again”.
“In 2022, my Department funded 24 projects to the tune of €70,000.
This year, we have significantly increased resources for this very worthwhile scheme, with 67 projects approved at a cost of €193,000, almost three times the projects and three times the funding,” the minister added.