Funding Granted to Peatlands Restoration Projects as Part of Shared Island Cooperation Programme
DAERA has allocated £2.7 million to five nonprofit organisations to embark on new peatland restoration across Northern Ireland and the border region, as part of a programme of collaboration with partners in Ireland and Scotland. Over the next three years, the Peatland Challenge Fund will enable organisations to more effectively tackle peatland degradation and its impact on climate change.
Announcing the grant, Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for Northern Ireland, Andrew Muir (MLA), emphasised the importance of restoring and building capacity for sustaining peatland habitats, as well as raising public awareness of peatlands’ vital environmental role. He noted that the fund represented a significant step in Northern Ireland’s journey towards healthier and more resilient peatlands and helps meet key biodiversity targets and Net Zero contributions
The funded projects include:
- Ulster Wildlife – “Building capacity for peatland restoration”;
- RSPBNI (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Northern Ireland) – “Peat restoration in collaboration”;
- The National Trust – “Understanding our past natural and cultural landscape heritage to enhance current peatland restoration”;
- Fermanagh & Omagh District Councils – “Cross border peatland scoping project’; and,
- Causeway Coast & Glens Heritage Trust – “Altikeeragh peatland restoration and monitoring”.
The Peatland Challenge Fund is part of the Cross-Border Peatlands Restoration Programme, launched in 2022 under the Shared Island initiative, connecting the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), the National Parks and Wildlife Service of Ireland, and NatureScot, to meet shared climate goals.
The Republic of Ireland’s Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien welcomed this cross-border funding initiative, highlighting peatlands’ role in biodiversity and climate protection across the island of Ireland.
Minister O’Brien remarked, “The collaboration between our National Parks and Wildlife Service with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and NatureScot is helping to conserve our peatlands and biodiversity resources, which the Government of Ireland is pleased to support, as part of the Shared Island initiative.”
