A £4million EU funded geological project to carry out further analysis of Northern Ireland’s natural resources has been launched. The cross-border Tellus Border project has been funded by the INTERREG IVA development programme of the European Regional Development Fund, which is managed by the Special European Programmes Body. This is the largest of the latest awards under the Environment theme of INTERREG IVA and is part funded by the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
The Geological Survey of Northern Ireland will manage the project in partnership with Geological Survey of Ireland, The Queen’s University, Belfast and Dundalk Institute of Technology.
The project is an extension of the award-winning Tellus Project in Northern Ireland, which produced new maps and digital data of soils, rocks and stream waters of the whole of Northern Ireland.
The project will provide high quality geological information to ensure sustainable use of natural resources. It will continue the analysis of the information gathered under the Tellus Project and help inform government development decisions including sustainable use of land in planning decisions, and enhance further private sector investment in areas such as mineral exploration.
Continuing the analysis of the Tellus data, the Border project will undertake innovative research, particularly in the scientific assessment and management of wetlands, soil-carbon and ground-pollution. The project will also integrate the geo-science information mapped on both sides of the border and improve cross-border collaboration in the management of earth resources and the environment.
The area covered by the project includes Northern Ireland, (excluding the Belfast Metropolitan Area) and the six northern counties of the Republic of Ireland (Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Monaghan, Cavan and Louth).