Some €4.3m in funding has been awarded to develop the Corncrake Conservation Project.
The money will go to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to roll out the project, which focuses on improving the conservation status of the corncrake in Ireland.
The funding for Ireland is part of a total budget of €5.9m for the LIFE Atlantic Crex project and it is due to start in January 2020 and will run for five years.
The project will see conservation work funded in project sites in counties Donegal, Mayo and Galway.
Working in partnership with landowners, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Údarás na Gaeltachta, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology and Fota Wildlife Park, the project aims to deliver a 20% increase on the 2018 population of Corncrake recorded in Ireland by 2024.
Actions under the scheme include community engagement, land purchase/compensation, implementation of Knowledge Exchange Groups for farmers, research and general public awareness.
There will be eight project sites, over nine SPAs and adjacent supporting farmland, 4,378ha total, with direct conservation works on 1,000ha.
The eight sites are:
The Mullet Catchment, Co Mayo.Inishbofin and Inishdooey Catchment, Co Donegal.Malin Head Catchment, Co Donegal.West Donegal Catchment, Co Donegal.Fanad Head Catchment.Tory Island Catchment, Co Donegal.Omey Island and Turbot Island Catchment, Co Galway.Marblehill to Meenlaragh Catchment, Co Donegal.Protected
The corncrake is a species listed for special protection under the EU Birds Directive. The birds "crex-crex" call was the sound of the summer for many up until the 1970s and early 1980s, until it began to decline.
The bird is now found on the periphery of Connacht and Donegal.
Minister for Culture, Heritage and Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan, the department the NPWS falls under, said that the funding demonstrates the ongoing importance of the EU LIFE Programme in assisting national governments to drive forward and support large-scale projects that have a regional or local focus, particularly in rural or peripheral areas.
“This funding will allow my Department, working in concert with stakeholders across Government and the communities in question, to put concrete and sustainable measures in place to help secure the future of this species, which has a special place in Irish culture,” she said.
The head of the European Commission representation in Ireland Gerry Kiely commented: “This project to enhance the conservation status of the corncrake will benefit from €4.3m in funding from the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action: the LIFE Programme.
“Protecting biodiversity is a major priority for the European Commission, particularly in the context of President Ursula von der Leyen’s Green Deal,” he said.
Read more
Corncrakes making a comeback
This week in photos: corncrake-friendly mowing and harvesting winter wheat
Some €4.3m in funding has been awarded to develop the Corncrake Conservation Project.
The money will go to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to roll out the project, which focuses on improving the conservation status of the corncrake in Ireland.
The funding for Ireland is part of a total budget of €5.9m for the LIFE Atlantic Crex project and it is due to start in January 2020 and will run for five years.
The project will see conservation work funded in project sites in counties Donegal, Mayo and Galway.
Working in partnership with landowners, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Údarás na Gaeltachta, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology and Fota Wildlife Park, the project aims to deliver a 20% increase on the 2018 population of Corncrake recorded in Ireland by 2024.
Actions under the scheme include community engagement, land purchase/compensation, implementation of Knowledge Exchange Groups for farmers, research and general public awareness.
There will be eight project sites, over nine SPAs and adjacent supporting farmland, 4,378ha total, with direct conservation works on 1,000ha.
The eight sites are:
The Mullet Catchment, Co Mayo.Inishbofin and Inishdooey Catchment, Co Donegal.Malin Head Catchment, Co Donegal.West Donegal Catchment, Co Donegal.Fanad Head Catchment.Tory Island Catchment, Co Donegal.Omey Island and Turbot Island Catchment, Co Galway.Marblehill to Meenlaragh Catchment, Co Donegal.Protected
The corncrake is a species listed for special protection under the EU Birds Directive. The birds "crex-crex" call was the sound of the summer for many up until the 1970s and early 1980s, until it began to decline.
The bird is now found on the periphery of Connacht and Donegal.
Minister for Culture, Heritage and Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan, the department the NPWS falls under, said that the funding demonstrates the ongoing importance of the EU LIFE Programme in assisting national governments to drive forward and support large-scale projects that have a regional or local focus, particularly in rural or peripheral areas.
“This funding will allow my Department, working in concert with stakeholders across Government and the communities in question, to put concrete and sustainable measures in place to help secure the future of this species, which has a special place in Irish culture,” she said.
The head of the European Commission representation in Ireland Gerry Kiely commented: “This project to enhance the conservation status of the corncrake will benefit from €4.3m in funding from the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action: the LIFE Programme.
“Protecting biodiversity is a major priority for the European Commission, particularly in the context of President Ursula von der Leyen’s Green Deal,” he said.
Read more
Corncrakes making a comeback
This week in photos: corncrake-friendly mowing and harvesting winter wheat
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: