Strategic Nature Supports Ireland
Strategic Nature Supports (SNS) Ireland is a €33.9 million EU-funded LIFE project led by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), the National Biodiversity Data Centre (NBDC) and Coillte CGA. SNS Ireland is the largest LIFE project in Ireland to date and is of strategic importance for biodiversity and nature restoration at a national level. It will run for 11 years from 2024 to 2034.
SNS Ireland aims to address critical barriers to implementation of Ireland’s Prioritised Action Framework 2021-2027 for Natura 2000 in Ireland (PAF21) and National Restoration Plan (NRP). It will do this through three interconnected pillars:
- Evidence
- Restoration
- Funding
Each of these pillars encompass a set of actions and outcomes intended to bring about a measurable improvement in the way we plan, deliver and fund nature restoration in Ireland.
Core goals
- Evidence – Develop a national Evidence Platform that collates, analyses and shares nature restoration data from multiple sources to provide a robust scientific basis for the design and prioritisation of restoration actions, maximising long-term biodiversity outcomes from investment.
- Restoration – Restore a selected list of highest priority sites, with a focus on flagship actions that can be scaled up by additional funding.
- Funding – Establish the tools, processes and people connections to create a diverse, sustainable pipeline of funding opportunities (public and private) for nature restoration, growing beyond the life of the project.
Strategic Nature Supports Ireland Vision
That Ireland’s biodiversity is conserved and restored through coordinated, comprehensive, and effective actions at a national scale.
Focus for 2026
During 2026, the project strengthened its team, developed a new data platform, built partnerships, and advanced restoration work in pilot areas.
- Project Management – A key achievement this year has been putting in place the structures needed to manage the project effectively. These include governance arrangements, financial controls, reporting systems and partnerships that will support delivery in the years ahead. The project team has also grown, with new coordinator roles filled and further recruitment planned
- Pollinator Monitoring – An important development has been the addition of the National Biodiversity Data Centre (NBDC) as a project partner. NBDC is leading pollinator monitoring, with surveys completed in 2025. This work will resume in 2027 in line with the new EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme.
- Developing the Integrated Data Platform-We have carried out workshops with project partners and stakeholders to identify the information, data and tools that users will need in the platform. The findings have been brought together in a requirements report to guide future development. The first operational component of the platform, a Data Catalogue, has now been developed. It will help users find and explore datasets from different organisations, including information on habitats, species, restoration projects and the wider environment.
- Restoration Pilot Projects- Work has begun to explore restoration opportunities at Lady’s Island Lake and Tacumshin Lake. This work is also serving as a pilot for the Integrated Data Platform. Working with experts across multiple organisations, the project is reviewing ecological information, identifying opportunities for action and coordinating with existing measures. For afforested peatland restoration, a technical expert group has been established to identify more cost-effective ways to plan and deliver projects, building on lessons from existing restoration work.
- Funding for Future Restoration– SNS Ireland is also exploring ways to increase funding for nature restoration. Drawing on experience from successful Irish and European projects, the team is identifying funding opportunities and developing approaches to support future investment. In time, the Integrated Data Platform will include a pipeline of potential restoration projects, making it easier to connect projects with suitable funding sources.
Delivered Across Six Work Packages
SNS Ireland will be delivered through six distinct work packages. Expand below to learn more.
To deliver a project of such scale and technical complexity, firm project management structures are required. The NPWS will coordinate using vast experience of successfully managing LIFE projects over three decades. This will be supplemented by the hiring of dedicated Project Management, Adminstrative, and Technical officers. Overall, this is bundled into three distinct areas of work:
- Project Management and coordination (including impact monitoring and evaluation)
- Coordination and building up of strategic capacities among the competent authorities and data holders and other stakeholders
- Project communication and outreach
Work Package 2 focuses on the delivery of an Integrated Data Platform. This will enable a coordinated, standardised national approach to the prioritisation, planning, monitoring and reporting of conservation measures in Ireland across a number of different organisations and stakeholders. Given the complex nature of this work, it will involve eight defined work streams:
- Requirements analysis
- Data analysis and data management plan
- Filling data gaps
- Develop indicators and metrics for prioritisation, monitoring and reporting
- Integrated Data Platform design
- Integrated Data Platform development and testing
- Change management, learning and adoption plan and rollout
- Support and Maintenance
This work package implements Pillar 2 and comprises three components;
- National Coastal Lagoons restoration strategy, focussing initial efforts of Lady’s Island and Tacumshin lagoons, Co. Wexford
- Afforested peatlands restoration on the Coillte estate, totalling 500ha, mainly in the West.
- Strategic interventions on other lands of high conservation and restoration priority, up to 1,000ha
This work package implements Pillar 3 and is dedicated to the mainstreaming of nature and biodiversity into funding programmes and the coordination and mobilisation of funding for complementary actions.
Key tasks include:
- Review existing key national and EU funding programmes
- Shortlist potential public and private funding sources
- Pursue specific complementary funding opportunities from the short list
- Initiate stakeholder engagement to identify/recruit potential project partners
- Develop a schedule for the preparation of prioritised complementary funding project
- Prepare and submit complementary funding proposals
- Coordinate the finalisation and drawdown of funds
- Collaborate with other SNaPs (e.g. Belgium) who share a focus on mobilising complementary funding
This work package will be delivered by the National Biodiversity Data Centre (NBDC), project partner, and will build on the work of a pilot monitoring scheme by establishing and operating a National Pollinator Monitoring Programme to track changes in wild pollinators across Ireland. Key tasks include:
- Preparations for management of the national pollinator monitoring programme
- Establishment of the monitoring network
- Implementation of the pollinator monitoring scheme
- Implementation of associated public awareness actions.
This work package supports all three Pillars. Key tasks include:
- Develop a strategy to ensure continuation of project results
- Develop a strategy to promote replication/transfer of project results in Ireland and other Member States
- Develop a strategy to ensure exploitation of project results.
This project is funded by the European Union under Grant no. 101103707. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.