World Wetlands Day 2022 has been marked by Minister of State for Heritage Malcolm Noonan with a tribute to communities who have worked to restore and raise awareness of the value of wetlands and peatlands.
Community-led projects are a key component to the conservation and restoration of wetlands, he said.
Mr Noonan has also released a promotional video to “raise public awareness of the value of peatlands as key ecosystems”.
Such wetlands and peatlands provide “socio-economic and environmental benefits as well as being large, long-term carbon stores with unique biodiversity”, he noted.
Minister of State for Heritage Malcolm Noonan
“Since 2018, with increased funding and resources, the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has restored or is actively restoring over 5,000 ha of protected raised bogs,”he said.
“This year will see the conclusion of the LIFE ‘Living Bog’ project which restored 12 raised bogs designated as Natura 2000 sites (SACs) in the midlands region,” he said.
A community engagement scheme run by his department has the largest funding allocation to date of 50,000 euro this year, Noonan said.
He has also announced that his department’s Local Biodiversity Action Fund is now open to applications from local authorities.
The fund increased to €1.5m in 2022, and supports locally-led projects that align with actions under the National Biodiversity Action Plan, he said.
One such project funded under the scheme in 2021 is Galway County Council’s “Wetlands of North East Galway” StoryMap, which has also been published this week.
The scheme, operated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service has “proven hugely popular, with all 31 local authorities seeking funding in 2021”, he said.
“A wide variety of projects were financed, ranging from the surveying of breeding birds and the creation of pollinator-friendly initiatives to projects raising awareness of the importance of biodiversity to our well-being, he said.
