The MacGillycuddy Reeks EIP project has been named runner-up in a global mountain protection competition.
The agri-environmental project, which is led by the South Kerry Development Partnership, was one of 24 projects that were showcased as part of the 2020-2021 UIAA Mountain Protection Award (MPA).
The projects represent a range of initiatives including encouraging youth participation, tackling pollution and climate change, creating sustainable national parks, spearheading clean-up campaigns and projects focused on women in mountaineering.
The MacGillycuddy Reeks EIP (European Innovation Partnership) project overcame stiff competition from some of the most well-known mountain ranges around the world including the Alpine Club of Canada, the Alps Mountaineering Villages, the Himalayan Togetherness for the Sustainability of the Mountain Trails and the UK H20 Community Hub Scheme.
“The project has really gone to great lengths to bring a wide range of different interest groups together working towards one objective and a shared vision: the protection of this important corner of Ireland,” Bjorn Alfthan, UIAA Mountain Protection Award external assessor and senior mountain expert at GRID-Arendal said.
“Recognition as runner-up to the 2020-2021 MPA will help to showcase this project widely and show how other areas in similar situations can work towards protecting our mountain habitats.”
Importance of these projects
Patricia Deane, who works for the South Kerry Development Partnership as project manager of the EIP project said that “all involved – the operational group, Reeks Forum, our farmers, local collective groups and communities – are undeniably thrilled and extremely proud of this achievement”.
“It is great to have recognition of all the hard work and effort carried out over the past years by all involved, and demonstrates what locally-led bottom-up approaches can achieve,” Deane added.
She said she hopes the recognition from UIAA MAP will “provide inspiration and show other groups what can be achieved when interested people come together”.
“We hope the recognition will further motivate us to continue growing our project and demonstrate to government departments and the EU the importance of projects such as these to be supported, encouraged and expanded into the future.”
MacGillycuddy Reeks project
The project is working with landowners on the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks who are facing “increasingly difficult challenges” in farming.
It is a unique upland landscape, “encompassing over 9,000ha of Natura 2000-designated, privately-owned High Nature Value [HNV] farmland, to a height of 1,039 metres”.
Landowners here face difficult challenges farming in the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks “due to the terrain, climate, succession issues, economically-unviable labour-intensive practices and the rising pressures brought about by increasing recreational activities each year”.
The project aims to “improve sustainability, the economic viability of farming through practical, achievable actions and innovative solutions to address issues”, along with protecting biodiversity.
However, it is only a small pilot project due to come to an end in 2022, having been launched in 2019.
Patricia Deane added: “‘The project has accomplished a huge amount over a very short timeframe, and we hope that consideration will be given to the expansion of some EIP projects to cover entire geographical areas, while still maintaining the locally-led approach that is critical to its success.
“Mainstreaming aspects of successful projects into generic schemes doesn’t always deliver the required results as each mountain area differs significantly and need tailor-made management plans. EIP’s have and can deliver more.”