Ministers Pippa Hackett and Malcolm Noonan have combined, along with their respective departments, to drive forward plans to conserve the iconic curlew.
Minister Noonan’s National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has advertised for 30 contractors to work with the Curlew Conservation Programme, with the intention that the work would start immediately.
Referring to the immediate recruitment drive, Minister Hackett said: “I am delighted to be supporting this initiative, which allows for people to begin work earlier in the year, because we need people in place now.
“The pre-season period from mid-January to March is crucial and this early hiring means that in advance of the breeding season, field officers will be able to come on board and lay the foundations for the year ahead with local landowners and communities.”
Conserving the curlew
Minister Noonan has welcomed the extra injection of funding from Minister Hackett’s department for what he said is a very important conservation effort.
He said: “The situation for curlew is one of the most difficult and pressing conservation concerns of our time. We’ve seen a 96% decline of breeding curlew since the late 1980s / early 1990s, and it is now threatened with extinction.
“I’m heartened to see early signs that the vital collaboration between the Curlew Action Teams, local farmers and communities is already benefitting its conservation. This funding will allow us to strengthen that collaboration and work together to protect this iconic and much-loved bird,” Minister Noonan said.
Conservation programme
The Curlew Conservation Programme, which finds and supports curlew to rear their young chicks, is now in its fifth season.
It was established by the NPWS in 2017, with the Department of Agriculture coming on board as partners in 2020. The joint funding package this year will amount to €500,000.
Minister Hackett said: “My department is already helping curlew conservation through locally-led schemes and also through our flagship environmental scheme GLAS [Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme] but this cooperation goes beyond funding.
It also means that curlew advisory officers will engage with existing GLAS advisors who have developed GLAS curlew plans. This will upskill advisors who operate in curlew areas and will pave the way for future relations between agri-environmental advisors and specialist advisors.
“Such joined up efforts are essential as we look to farmers and landowners to protect our last curlew. They hold the future in their hands and I know they are ready to make positive changes for nature when provided with specialist support and advice,” Minister Hackett added.
Minister Noonan agreed, saying: “The curlew is a link with the wild Ireland of past generations, and the farmers and landowners who support our remaining breeding populations of curlew are vital to its future.
“I hope that this funding will further the important work already undertaken by them in conjunction with the Curlew Conservation Programme, and help to ensure that the beautiful and unique cry of the curlew will continue to be a part of the soundscape of the Irish countryside for many years to come,” he concluded.