Wednesday, 30th April—A new project worth over €5 million to support two local communities to help restore populations of freshwater pearl mussel in South Kerry has been agreed today (30th April) by the European Union.
Welcoming the news, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Mr Jimmy Deenihan T.D. said, “South Kerry is at Europe’s frontline in efforts to save this important species. I very much welcome the flow of funds from the European Union and Irish Authorities to underpin this collaboration with the local communities in South Kerry. I am pleased at the involvement of the South Kerry Development Partnership and the support of the local farming and forestry sectors.” The Minister added, “I trust this collaborative project will ensure that a balance can be achieved between the economic sustainability of rural families and communities and the environmental protection of threatened species.”
Ireland is regarded as a stronghold within Europe for the freshwater pearl mussel. The mussel is a key species in the ecology of many Irish rivers helping to keep their waters clean thereby producing wider benefits for other aquatic biodiversity such as fish stocks. This important ecological role makes it particularly vulnerable to changes in water quality and has therefore given it particular conservation value and specific protection under Europe’s Habitats Directive. While occurring throughout Ireland, the Caragh and Blackwater catchments in South Kerry host the two largest populations with an estimated 45% of the national resource.
In June 2013, an application was made to the EU LIFE programme to providing funding support for a collaborative project working with local communities and stakeholders in the farming and forestry sectors to deliver sustainable land use management for the conservation of the freshwater pearl mussel (or KerryLIFE). The European Union has now agreed to provide almost 50% co-funding for this €5 million project which is being led by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, South Kerry Development Partnership, Teagasc and Coillte and was ratified today at a meeting in Brussels. The project will represent a significant step in efforts to reverse the decline of the species in Ireland.
The Minister concluded by saying, “This is a collaborative approach and I would particularly like to thank my colleague, Minister Coveney, and our other partners for their support for this project.”
ENDS
Note to Editors
Q.What is the title of the project?
A. Sustainable land use management for the conservation of freshwater pearl mussel. The project is called KerryLIFE for short to reflect the location of the project (Kerry) and the enabling EU funding mechanism (LIFE).
Q.What is the general aim of KerryLIFE?
A. KerryLIFE is a demonstration project that will operate in two freshwater pearl mussel catchments over a 5½ year period from 2014-2019. It will seek to develop and demonstrate effective conservation measures that will restore the freshwater pearl mussel (which can live to over a hundred years of age) to favourable conservation condition in the Caragh and Blackwater catchments. The pilot project will focus on farming and forestry activities in the project area within the Natura designated sites. KerryLIFE will implement, in co-operation with farmers and forest-owners, a wide range of measures to enable farming and forestry to be practised, in a way that will sustain both the pearl mussel population and the livelihood of the farm and forest enterprises. It will harness local farming and forest knowledge and experience with the scientific expertise of other project partners and supporters to overcome some of the challenges of land use management in freshwater pearl mussel catchments and to improve the conservation status of the designated sites.
Q.Who is involved in KerryLIFE?
KerryLIFE is an integrated project led by the Department of Arts, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht, in partnership with the Department of Agricultural, Food and the Marine, Forest Service, Teagasc, Coillte and South Kerry Development Partnership Ltd.
Supporters of the project include the Irish Farmers Association, Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, Ring of Kerry Quality Lamb Cooperative Society, Woodlands of Ireland, Heritage Council, Inland Fisheries Ireland, Kerry County Council, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Q. What is the budget for KerryLIFE and who is funding it?
A. The total budget for KerryLIFE is €5,010,581. 50% of the project funding will come from the European Union’s LIFE+ funding programme for Nature and Biodiversity while the remaining 50% of the funding is being contributed by the Irish partners. In real terms, KerryLIFE will see an injection of just over €3.7 million in cash into the South Kerry communities via the various project initiatives.