Pictured at the launch are l-r Dr. Valerie McCarthy, Dundalk Institute of Technoloy, Dr. Pat O’Connor, Geological Survey of Ireland, Conor Lenihan, Minister for Natural Resources, Ray Scanlon, Geological Survey of Ireland and Mike Young, Geological Survey of Northern Ireland.

Minister for Natural Resources, Mr.Conor Lenihan, T.D., today (15 Feb 2011) launched a €5 million EU-funded geological project to map the natural resources of the border counties of Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth.

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 EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). This is the largest of the latest awards under the Environment theme of INTERREG IVA and is part funded by the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Northern Ireland’s Department of the Environment.

Launching the Tellus Border project in the Republic of Ireland, Minister Lenihan said:

“I am delighted to announce this important project that will provide top-level geological information to ensure sustainable use of Ireland’s natural resources.

Over the next three years extensive survey work will be carried out in Ireland’s border counties providing important background information on geology, stream water quality, and potential pollution sources, which will help to inform the work of a number of different partners including my own Department.”

The project is a joint initiative between the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI), the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland (GSNI), the Dundalk Institute of Technology and Queen’s University, Belfast. The project builds on the award-winning Tellus Project in Northern Ireland, which produced new environmental maps and digital data of soils, rocks and stream waters of the whole of Northern Ireland.

At the launch, Dr. Patrick O’Connor, acting Director of the Geological Survey of Ireland - a division of Minister Lenihan’s Department of Communications, Energy & Natural Resources - said “GSI and GSNI have worked closely together to deliver a flagship project that will bring tangible benefits to the economy of the border counties, building on previous joint initiatives by both organisations”.

Also contributing to the project will be scientists from the Centre for Freshwater Studies, Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT), who will carry out a wetlands study in the border region. According to the Centre’s Director, Dr. Suzanne Linnane, “We plan to focus our efforts on improving the management and protection of wetlands in the border region. We can achieve this by researching how and why wetlands occur, operate and what variables most affect the ecology of wetlands. DkIT is pleased to be part of this major investment in earth science and environmental research in Ireland.”

Welcoming the launch of the EU-funded project Pat Colgan, Chief Executive of the SEUPB, said: “Upon completion, this innovative project will inform and improve sustainable land management practices across Northern Ireland and the Border Region of Ireland. It has been supported under the cross-border infrastructure element of the EU’s INTERREG IVA Programme which is encouraging sustainable development in a number of sectors including environmental protection.”

The Tellus Border project will undertake innovative research, particularly in the scientific assessment and management of soil-carbon and groundwater pollution, as well as wetlands. Continuing the analysis of the Tellus data, 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.

Ends

Notes to editors:

1. SEUPB
The Special EU Programmes Body is a North/South Implementation Body sponsored by the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland and the Department of Finance in Ireland. It is responsible for managing two EU structural funds Programmes PEACE III and INTERREG IV designed to enhance cross-border co-operation, promote reconciliation and create a more peaceful and prosperous society. The Programmes operate within a clearly defined area including Northern Ireland, the Border Region of Ireland and Western Scotland.

The INTERREG IVA 2007-2013 Programme, funded though the European Regional Development Fund, is worth €256 million and aims to address the economic and social problems which result from the existence of borders. It has two distinct priority measures to create co-operation for a more prosperous and sustainable cross-border region. For more information on the SEUPB please visit http://www.seupb.eu/

2. Partner Responsibilities
Geological Survey of Northern Ireland (GSNI)
- Project management
- Airborne geophysical survey of approx 65% of the land area and inland waters of parts of Counties Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Louth, Cavan and Monaghan.

Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) – www.gsi.ie
- Communications management
- Data management
- Geochemical soils and streams survey of the above six counties of RoI.

GSNI/GSI
- Integration of new RoI data with Tellus data; cross-border analysis and interpretation.

Queen’s University Belfast
- Characterisation and quantification of carbon in soil (post-doc). This will be led by Dr Jennifer McKinley and Dr Alastair Ruffell at Queen’s School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology.
- Detection, mapping and characterisation of pollution plumes (post-doc). This will be led by Dr Ulrich Ofterdinger at Queen’s School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering and Dr Alastair Ruffell at Queen’s School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology.

Dundalk Institute of Technology
- Hydrology and hydrogeology of wetlands of the border area (post-doc).

3. Project background
Tellus Border is the latest phase of a project originally conceived by GSNI, GSI and the British Geological Survey in the late 1990s as ‘The Resource and Environmental Survey of Ireland’ (RESI). This was intended to be a comprehensive and integrated geophysical and geochemical survey of the whole island of Ireland, with the objective of providing state-of-the-art geo-science information to inform government development decisions.

The first phase of RESI, the Tellus Project, comprised geoscience surveys of Northern Ireland completed between 2004 and 2007. The project was co-funded by DETI, DoE, and the EU’s ‘Building Sustainable Prosperity’ fund of the Rural Development Programme of DARD. These surveys comprised detailed geochemical surveys and a low-level airborne geophysical survey of the whole of Northern Ireland. The results have been used widely by government and industry for environmental management and the value of the project was acknowledged by national awards for GIS, mineral exploration promotion, and public relations.

The second phase of the programme in Northern Ireland, ‘Tellus2’, was funded between 2008 and 2011 by the Chancellor’s Fund for Innovation; this phase extended data analysis and promoted the use of the data widely amongst the research community. Today, 10 PhDs based on Tellus data are in progress in UK and Ireland.

Objectives for Tellus2 were set out in the Regional Innovation Strategy for Northern Ireland Action Plan, 2008-11. These include Action 3.1.3: ‘Collaborate with government and industrial partners in the RoI in extending the Tellus project into the RoI’. Accordingly, in July 2009 GSNI assembled a cross-border partnership to apply for funding under the Environment theme of INTERREG IVA. The submission proposed geochemical and airborne geophysical surveys of the six northern counties of RoI, continued analysis and application of existing Tellus data in NI, and three complementary research projects in wetlands, soil carbon, and detection of pollution plumes. The application was successful and SEUPB awarded a grant of £4,014,609 for a project to run from 1 November 2011 to 31 December 2013.

4. For media enquiries please contact DCENR’s Press Office, telephone 01 678 2418 / 087 6937580

5. Photos of launch announcement being sent to pic-desks separately and are available on request