Initiative encourages knowledge sharing between scientists and local communities to protect coastal tourism and heritage sites from climate change
On Thursday I launched a new project called CHERISH. The Geological Survey Ireland, an agency under the remit of my Department, is one of the two Irish partners in this new European funded cross-border project: CHERISH (Climate, Heritage and Environments of Reefs, Islands and Headlands).
Using the latest geoscience technology and expertise, CHERISH partners will perform collaborative research in marine mapping, landscape modelling, excavation and environmental studies. Most importantly, they will work with coastal communities to develop mutual understanding of climate risk to local heritage assets and reduce the impact of climate change on local economies.
Geological Survey Ireland and its partners are attuned to the importance of this project as a social and economic mission, as well as a scientific one. It is my aim that this project will serve as a stimulus for climate knowledge growth, wellbeing and prosperity in the local communities it serves, as well as throughout coastal Ireland.
The Irish component of the project will focus on five coastal communities around Ireland: Glascarrig Motte, Co. Wexford; Skellig Michael, Co. Kerry; Saltee Islands, Co. Wexford; Skerries Islands, Co. Dublin and Dalkey Island, Co. Dublin.
The key objective of CHERISH is to increase cross-border knowledge and understanding of the impacts (past, present and near-future) of climate change, increased storminess and extreme weather events on the cultural heritage of reefs, islands and headlands of the Welsh and Irish regional seas. The project will target data and management knowledge gaps, employing innovative techniques to discover, assess, map and monitor heritage assets on land and beneath the sea, widely disseminating the results and developing best practice for future climate change adaptation.