Public information meetings for farmers about EU-funded Wild Atlantic Nature LIFE Integrated Project

Pilot voluntary results based agri-environment payment scheme will see new income opportunties for farmers

Two public information meetings will be held in Donegal in the coming week about the Wild Atlantic Nature project.

The EU-funded Wild Atlantic Nature LIFE Integrated Project (IP) is a nine-year environmental project (2021-2029) led by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

It aims to improve Ireland’s performance in conserving habitats, and in particular to improve the conservation status in the Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) Network of blanket bog, a priority habitat under the Habitats Directive.

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The primary focus is on 35 Natura 2000 sites in the northwest of Ireland. The project works with farmers and local communities to conserve and improve the quality of blanket bogs and associated habitats, and the ecosystem services they provide including clean water, carbon storage and biodiversity.

As part of the project, a pilot voluntary Results Based agri-environment Payment Scheme (RBPS) will be linked to the quality of the habitat, thereby putting the landowner, their skills, expertise and knowledge of their land central to the development of this project. The project will also implement a number of actions aimed at enhancing wider community engagement in the project.

These include establishing local support groups across the project sites, developing and implementing community knowledge exchange programmes, administering community outreach activities, developing a schools education programme, supporting communities to develop and manage tourism and recreational activities and develop appropriate infrastructure. Another key action of the project will be a national campaign to enhance public awareness and appreciation of Ireland’s Natura 2000 network.

Other actions will include site surveys, ecological assessments, training for concrete conservation actions, control of invasive species, fire prevention, water management and monitoring and evaluation.

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As part of the project, a pilot agri-environmental scheme is being run in Mayo, Sligo and Donegal. In 2021, the initial target area in the Owenduff SAC, Mayo saw a fantastic response of 170 farmers participating in the scheme.

Now, new target areas are being looked at in Donegal, namely the Slieve Tooey and Lough Nillan SACs in Donegal.

Farmer information meetings for the Donegal target areas will be held in Meenaneary Community Hall, Carrick, on Monday for the Slieve Tooey target area, while on Tuesday, April 5, the Highlands Hotel in Glenties will be the venue for the Lough Nilian target area.

Both meetings are from 7.00 - 9.00 pm.

The meetings will offer attendees a chance to meet the project team, to learn more about the agri-environmental scheme and how this pilot scheme may feed into the new cooperation projects from 2023 onwards.