County Cavan, Monaghan and Louth
River Glyde
The river Glyde is set to benefit from investment for river restoration measures as part of a multi-partner cross border environmental initiative funded by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) under investment area 5.3: Water Quality covering promoting access to water and sustainable water management.
The over €8.2 million funded Catchment Action for Local Management (CALM) project was launched in Carlingford in March. Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) are delighted to be partners on this exciting project to address critical environmental challenges within cross border river catchments along with the Loughs Agency, Ulster University, Agri-Food Business Institute (AFBI), Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council (ABC) and led by the East Border Region. The innovative project sets out to encompass comprehensive measures to mitigate nutrient access, restore river habitats and foster strong community engagement through activities such as citizen science.
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is the state agency responsible for the protection, conservation, management, development, and promotion of Ireland’s inland fisheries and sea angling resources.
A river section damaged by encroachment on the Cormey River. A standard type of section that could benefit from the type of restoration measures potentially through a project such as CALM.
Region (EBR). IFI proposes to undertake river restoration via nature-based solutions or interventions within the River Glyde catchment through the counties of Cavan, Monaghan and Louth. One of the primary challenges of this project to mitigate against excess nutrient loading to waterbodies. This leads to water pollution, habitat breakdown and biodiversity loss in river catchments. The issue is exacerbated by a range of pressures ranging from land use practices to inadequate waste management, posing significant environmental and public health risks.
IFI are focusing with CALM on restoring catchments like stretches of the Glyde through three focus areas.
- Nutrient Management: Strong collaborations with local landowners to create interventions to minimise sediment and nutrient losses fostering the tools for change to understand and champion such actions whilst improving farm sustainability too. Actions may include riparian fencing, alternative drinking sources for animal access and potential innovative measures via nature-based solution practices.
- Nature Recovery: Our team is dedicated to restoring habitats to create healthy ecosystems for fish and water quality while carrying out scientific monitoring and supporting localised water monitoring through citizen science to keep our rivers recovering to achieve good ecological status.
- Community Integration: We believe in the power of community! We’re engaging with our partners, relevant stakeholders, local farmers, schools, and residents to promote sustainable water management practices together and leave a legacy in the collectives’ actions to restore our rivers through CALM.
With the support of our PEACEPLUS partners led by the East Border Region, IFI is committed to providing the freshwater expertise and hands-on action needed to protect our shared water resources and the incredible biodiversity in the Glyde for future generations to cherish and enjoy.
