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A major conservation project led by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council has reached the finals of a major Europe-wide competition.
The CANN (Collaborative Action for the Natura Network) project was named as a finalist in the Innovations in Politics Awards. Now in its fifth year, the Awards ask politicians from all over Europe to submit their most outstanding political initiatives over a range of themes.
The CANN project aims to improve the condition of protected habitats and to support priority species found within Northern Ireland, the Border Region of Ireland and Scotland, allowing the region to meet key EU biodiversity targets and ensuring the future of these internationally important habitats and species.
Funded by the EU's INTERREG VA Programme, through the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) to €9.4 million, it is working with 11 partners to deliver conservation targets across Northern Ireland, the border region of Ireland and western Scotland. The CANN project is also match-funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland, NatureScot in Scotland and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in Ireland.
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Councillor Cathy Mason, nominated the CANN Project as an exceptional example of partners working together across borders to develop practical solutions to the urgent problems of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Councillor Mason said: "Having seen details of the huge range of work being undertaken by the CANN project in our district and others, in a swathe from Sligo to the Highlands of Scotland, I was immediately struck by the strength of the partnership and the way councils, charities, academic institutions and government departments are working together showing real political leadership."
The CANN project is now one of the last 10 in the Ecology section of the awards, whittled down from over 400 entries across Europe. The winners of each of the nine categories will receive one of the coveted trophies in a special awards ceremony held towards the end of the year.
