Minister of State for Nature Christopher O’Sullivan has hailed a “landmark” in protecting some of Ireland’s most vulnerable birds.
The Eurasian Curlew, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Northern Lapwing, Common Redshank, Dunlin and Common Snipe are among the species facing severe decline in recent decades.
Some 70 landowners have now committed to protecting their populations under the Breeding Waders European Innovation Partnership (EIP).
This equates to 2,340 hectares of land for the waders now under conservation management, O’Sullivan says.
The Breeding Waders EIP is funded by both the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
O’Sullivan says that “any species of birds in Ireland are under threat, but our breeding waders in particular have seen massive declines over the last number of years”.
“Through the efforts of the team at the Breeding Waders EIP and the enthusiasm of the landowners who are volunteering to take part in this collaborative project, I am hopeful that we will start to see a reversal of these trends,”he said.
“I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the landowners involved, and wish them every success in their efforts to protect these amazing birds.”
Senior Project Manager with the Breeding Waders EIP Owen Murphy, welcomed the milestone and said he envisaged that the project “will ultimately see more than 12,000ha of land receiving management actions for waders while also delivering the associated co-benefits in biodiversity, carbon capture and flood mitigation.”
As Afloat has previously reported, the Breeding Waders EIP was initiated in May 2024.
Since then, the project has focused on “practical, science‑led measures including habitat management, predator control, headstarting, water level management, and reducing disturbance during the critical nesting season”, the project partners state.
The 2,340 hectares now under active conservation management represent some of the most important ecosystems for Ireland’s breeding waders.
