Uplands Council receive €1.95m for SUAS project
WICKLOW Uplands Council has secured €1.95 million in funding for the Sustainable Uplands Agriculture-environment Scheme (SUAS) pilot project, designed to assist both commonage groups and individual farmers
An official launch night was held in the Glendalough Hotel on Monday, featuring presentations from Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture, Andrew Doyle and Chief Executive of The Heritage Council, Michael Starrett.
The project is the first of its type in Ireland, and was successful in securing funding under the first round of European Innovation Partnership for Agriculture, Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI) initiative. The key objective of the five-year pilot is to develop practical and innovative solutions that will address the complex agricultural, environmental and socio-economic challenges associated with the land management of commonages and hill farms in the Wicklow/ Dublin uplands.
Speaking at the launch, Pat Dunne, the Project Lead for the SUAS Project, said: ‘Wicklow Uplands Council are very grateful that the EIP process and for the substantial funding that the project has received. It has created an enormous opportunity to make a positive and lasting change to secure the sustainable future management of the Wicklow and Dublin uplands’.
The project has evolved following several years of extensive study which identified the poor-to-bad conservation status of the habitat found in the Wicklow/Dublin uplands. The study also found a decline in the use of the uplands for livestock grazing and the need for specific support for upland farmers.
According to Declan Byrne, Project Manager of the SUAS project: ‘ The SUAS project has the potential to change the way agri-environmental schemes operate on the commonages across the country and once completed, will offer a framework built around a collective and formalised structure for other groups to adapt’.
Participants will work closely with Faith Wilson, an ecologist who will monitor and advise on the improvement of the ecology and water found on the selected sites over the duration of the project. SUAS will also be organising training courses and necessary support required by participating farmers.