The inaugural edition of Changing Landscapes will hear how grassroots initiatives that deliver for local landowners and communities will be a crucial part of Ireland’s response to the climate and biodiversity emergencies. The new land use forum, hosted by nature restoration charity Hometree, will explore how local groups are transforming the landscape to better weather current and future challenges by creating bespoke solutions to their unique set of problems. Hometree is calling on private investors and the State to recognise the value of these projects, to improve financing and administrative structures to support them, and to mobilise resources to allow initiatives like these to be replicated at scale.
A case study from Maharees Conservation Group will show how community action has halted the erosion of the sand dunes at Magherabeg Cut on the Dingle Peninsula through simple measures like building barrier fences, planting marram grass and creating a car park for the many summer visitors to their beach. Wild Atlantic Nature LIFE will explain how their Dúlra project supports local farmers to restore nature with workshops and training programmes to help them rewet bogs and remove invasive species.
Speaking in advance of the conference, Changing Landscapes organiser and Hometree Development Lead, Ray Ó Foghlú said: “To make any meaningful progress towards our climate targets, what’s needed is a ground-up mobilisation of stakeholders. Currently, I don’t believe that farmers – the dominant landowners – see it as in their best interest to engage in nature restoration. If this is a serious challenge, we need to treat it seriously; to mobilise resources in the same way as we did for the pandemic – all hands on deck, leave no one unsure that they will be looked after. We need to make it financially viable for farmers to invest in nature, which currently it isn’t. However, in addition to funding, farmers need to get support on the ground – in the form of instruction and training in how to work with the land they have to make their farms more sustainable – but, crucially, they need reassurance that what they’re doing is in their own best interest going forward.”
Martha Farrell, Founding Member and Director of Maharees Conservation Group said: “It’s important that the State is willing to take a risk on local pilot projects. We were lucky to have state agency representatives who were willing to take the risk to help us but local groups are also doing a huge service to the State. They’re doing things that state agencies can’t because they just don’t have the resources. However, the administrative load for local groups is significant. You have to exist as a CLG (Company Limited by Guarantee) to get any meaningful funding, which is an expensive and time-consuming process. Then the funding streams themselves are quite ad hoc, with lengthy forms to complete for small awards. We’re a voluntary group, and want to remain that way, but funding should be more systematic and easier to access.”
For more information about Hometree’s projects and the Changing Landscapes event, go to hometree.ie
