Skellig Michael is among the sites that will benefit from a new €4m EU project to protect Welsh and Irish coastal heritage sites from climate change.
Funded by the European Union’s Ireland-Wales programme, the CHERISH project (Climate, Heritage and Environments of Reefs, Islands and Headlands), it will bring together four organisation from Ireland and Wales to research coastal heritage sites in Wales and Ireland.
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (Project Lead), Aberystwyth University: Department of Geography and Earth Sciences and Geological Survey, Ireland and the Discovery Programme will coming together, using cutting edge technology to analyse and research coastal heritage sites which are most at risk from climate change, coastal erosion and rising sea levels.
It will fund new excavations, environmental studies, marine mapping and landscape modelling. It will also support future strategies for climate change by providing a deeper understanding of longer-term changes to Wales and Ireland’s heritage and coastal environments which attract thousands of visitors each year.
The collaborative research has the potential to help safeguard coastal and heritage sites from the risk of climate change and minimise negative impacts on local economies.
Some of the tourism and heritage sites in Ireland that will benefit from this project include the Saltee Islands, Glascarrig Motte, Skellig Michael and Skerries Islands.
Irish Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe, T.D. said: “This project is an excellent example of how new technologies can be used to address emerging issues such as climate change and its impact on our shared heritage and marine environment. It also underscores the importance of cross-border cooperation and support from the European Union for such cooperation.”
