Seven Donegal projects have been allocated funding totalling over €97,000 under the Local Biodiversity Action Fund 2026.
The initiative will see €3 million being awarded to over 260 projects across 31 local authorities, supported by their Biodiversity and Heritage Officers.
Junior Minister Charlie McConalogue, says the funding will support research, surveys, action on invasive species, and habitat management in Donegal.
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€97,546 allocated to Donegal biodiversity projects
Seven Donegal biodiversity projects have been allocated funding totalling €97,546 under the Local Biodiversity Action Fund 2026.
The initiative will see €3 million being awarded to over 260 projects across 31 local authorities, supported by Biodiversity and Heritage Officers.
Welcoming the funding announcement made by the Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan, Donegal Minister of State, Charlie McConalogue, said: “This funding will support research, surveys, action on invasive species and habitat management in Donegal and I thank Minister O’Sullivan for the funding allocated to seven local projects here in Donegal.”
“The objective of the scheme is to support local authorities to deliver actions in Ireland’s fourth National Biodiversity Action Plan,” the Minister of State for Sport and Postal Policy added.
The fund was originally established in 2018 to assist local authorities in the implementation of actions in support of biodiversity. Over €13 million has been granted to local authorities for their biodiversity work over the past seven years.
The seven Donegal projects set to receive funding under the Local Biodiversity Action Fund 2026 are:
Supporting IAS recording and control in Donegal – €18,700.
Recording Irish mayfly – establishing conservation status – €1,228.
Putting Donegal Biodiversity on the Map – €12,903
Development of a Woodland Bat Monitoring Survey – €4,110
Updating the Donegal Species Audit – Phase II – €8,500
Maintenance of Predator Exclusion Fences – €30,940
Donegal Wetlands Field Survey 2024 – €21,165
In 2025 the Fund was awarded to 262 projects across 31 Local Authorities. Activities undertaken ranged from surveys and monitoring of rare species, measures to tackle invasive species, manage and restore unique habitats.
The fourth National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP) 2023-2030 was launched in January 2024 and sets out Ireland’s vision for biodiversity, that by 2050 “biodiversity in Ireland is valued, conserved, restored and sustainably used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people”.
