The government has launched a new €25 million project with the aim of protecting breeding waders, which have been described as Ireland’s “most vulnerable” group of birds.
This new European Innovation Partnership (EIP) was launched today (Wednesday, May 22), and is jointly funded by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
The project aims to maintain existing wader populations at “key sites”, and to support population recovery through wider landscape management and policy development.
This is not the first EIP in relation to breeding waders, but it is largest-funded EIP established for that purpose.
According to DAFM, populations of breeding waders, which include the curlew, dunlin, lapwing and golden plover, have declined by as much as 98% in recent decades in the Irish countryside.
EIPs are locally-led schemes which are designed and implemented by collaborative groups involving farmers, scientists, ecologists and other experts to deliver specific goals.
Earlier this year, a consortium led by the Irish Rural Link was selected as the operational lead to deliver the breeding waders EIP.
The EIP was launched at Shannon Harbour in Co. Offaly by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue; Minister of State for land use and biodiversity Pippa Hackett; and Minister of state at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Malcolm Noonan.
Speaking at the launch, Minister McConalogue said: “This important initiative under Ireland’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan, and the funding of €25 million provided, is proof of the government’s commitment to protect the wader populations that are currently present at important locations and to promote population recovery.
“The success of this EIP will help secure the future of breeding waders, as it will provide farmers that are willing to carry out habitat enhancements above and beyond regulatory standards.”
Minister Hackett said: “We know how successful the locally-led EIP model can be, with farmers coming together backed by expert advice to take targeted actions for biodiversity enhancement and to bring about meaningful landscape change.
“We are supporting the Breeding Waders EIP with a €25 million budget and a world-class project team, and I am really looking forward to following its progress over the coming years and, all going well, seeing much healthier breeding wader numbers in the Shannon Callows and beyond,” Minister Hackett added.
Minister Noonan (who, like Minister Hackett, is a member of the Green Party) said: “For many years, the NPWS and DAFM have worked together to conserve breeding wader populations, generating valuable expertise and knowledge.
“This new approach means that this work will now be expanded and, for the first time, appropriately funded to tackle the decline of overall populations and ranges,” Minister Noonan added.