A new €7.4 million project has been launched to restore some of Europe's most unique coastal habitats and protect vulnerable wading birds.

The launch of the project in Killeen Community Centre, Louisburgh, Co Mayo, coincided with World Curlew Day 2023 on Friday 21 April.

The project, which will run until 2028, is primarily aimed at the delivery of environmental and social benefits for people and nature through the conservation and restoration of machair habitats and species. It will work on nine sites covering over 5,000 hectares along the western seaboard, from west Connemara in Galway, to South Mayo, Achill Island and the Erris region in northwest Mayo to north Donegal.

It is led by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and co-funded by the European Commission's LIFE fund. Three Associated Beneficiaries are involved in the project: the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Teagasc and Fáilte Ireland.

Speaking at the launch, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, said: "To ensure long-term success on complex environmental issues, we need to empower and incentivise communities to take action for nature and put them at the heart of the effort. I'm delighted that over 100 farmers have already signed up to take part in LIFE on Machair to restore these special coastal grasslands, which hold enormous biodiversity value. Collaborative approaches like these are the best way to deliver real and enduring results for nature that are good for people as well as wildlife.

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"On World Curlew Day, it is particularly welcome news that, through the project, participants will also support the protection of some of our most threatened wading birds, such as the Lapwing, Dunlin, Snipe and Redshank, which breed in these habitats, and of course, the much-loved Curlew, which is a winter visitor.

"I'd like to congratulate the project team on what promises to be a hugely impactful initiative for nature in this region, and also the participants, who are embarking on a journey as leaders in the national effort to restore nature. They should be heartily commended for their efforts."

Highlighting the importance of the work already done by LIFE on Machair and other LIFE projects supported by DAFM, Minister of State Senator Pippa Hackett added: "LIFE on Machair is a fantastic project developed by the agencies responsible for farming, nature conservation and tourism to support rural communities which will deliver results for nature and biodiversity. The results based element is very key to the success of the project. Monitoring results helps farmers to really engage and deliver for their local ecosystem. I was delighted to be in my home county of Mayo today with my colleague Minister Noonan, in particular on this 2023 World Curlew Day to see real community effort on biodiversity and farmland birds first hand. This is a great example of a systems approach to combining valuable outputs for farming and nature conservation, while leading the way to informing wider restoration projects. In particular, I am delighted to see that learning from the Great Yellow Bumblebee EIP have now been integrated to the LIFE on Machair project, highlighting the effectiveness of European Innovation Projects which I will continue to champion and fund."

Whilst in Killeen Minister Noonan announced that LIFE on Machair through the NPWS will adopt the 'Great Yellow Bumblebee' (GYB) EIP.