EU LIFE SNaP Ireland initiative

Timeline

1992. Annex 1 of the Habitats Directive listed lagoons as a priority natural habitat type of Community interest whose conservation requires the designation by Member States of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:31992L0043).

2018. On 14 May 2018, Ireland designated Lady’s Island Lake a SAC with the coastal lagoon (Code: 1150) flagged as a qualifying interest (https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2018/si/292/made/en).

2020. The NPWS commenced the process of applying to the EU for funding for a LIFE Strategic Nature Project for Ireland as part of the next generation of EU LIFE projects and in anticipation of the 2022 LIFE Call for Proposals (https://irl.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/publicpurchase_docs.asp?PID=175661&LID=198341&AllowPrint=1).

2023. Eighty-eight coastal lagoons are documented in Ireland; forty of them were selected for monitoring between 2023 and 2025 and these included the three lagoons on the South Wexford Coast: Lady’s Island Lake, Tacumshin Lake, and the Ballyteige Channels. All contracted tasks were due for completion by 31 October, 2025 (https://irishriverproject.com/2023/04/21/national-coastal-lagoon-monitoring-programme/).

22 February 2024. The EU Commission announced an investment of over €233 million in 12 Strategic Projects across Europe under the LIFE programme to support the implementation of the EU’s environmental and climate ambitions under the European Green Deal. Two of the twelve strategic projects were located in Ireland (https://ireland.representation.ec.europa.eu/news-and-events/news/two-irish-environmental-projects-awarded-over-eu35-million-eu-life-funding-2024-02-22_en).

6 March 2024. On 6 March, Minister Malcolm Noonan announced the new €34m Strategic Nature Project (SNaP) to transform Ireland’s approach to biodiversity data and enable Government to track progress on nature protection and restoration (Government press release at https://www.npws.ie/news/minister-noonan-announces-%E2%82%AC34m-project-transform-ireland%E2%80%99s-approach-biodiversity-data and https://www.malcolmnoonan.com/post/34m-snap-to-transform-our-approach-to-biodiversity-data). On 8 March 2025, CAP Network Ireland announced the scheme (https://capnetworkireland.eu/new-life-strategic-nature-project-snap-ireland-announced/). In summary, the LIFE SNaP Ireland initiative is a nine-year (01/01/2024-31/12/2032) plan to advance the implementation of both the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive. The project is co-ordinated by the NPWS. DAFM and Coillte Nature are partners and key stakeholders. The project has a budget of €33,894,621 million (EU contribution €20,336,772) and consists of three pillars. The focus of Pillar Two / WP3 (Restoration) includes lagoons with “an initial focus on more than one third of the total area of designated lagoons habitat in Ireland” in south-east Ireland with Lady’s Island Lake SAC and Tacumshin Lake SAC specifically named as project sites (https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/life/publicWebsite/project/LIFE22-IPN-IE-LIFE-SNaP-Ireland-101103707/life-strategic-nature-project-for-ireland).

24 January 2025. A 14-person LIFE SNaP Ireland Project Team was put in place. That team included a “lagoon expert”. A public invitation to apply for the post of Project Manager was published with a closing deadline of 24 January 2025 (https://assets.gov.ie/315903/242a2802-9f64-4f47-a96d-c2d375ac5f27.pdf).