ECHOES (Effect of climate change on bird habitats around the Irish Sea) was a research project that sought to address how climate change will impact coastal bird habitats of the Irish Sea, with particular reference to two wetland species that are in rapid decline – the Curlew and Greenland White-fronted Goose.

Timeline

The project ran from Dec 2019 until June 2023 and drew together expertise and stakeholders from both sides of the Irish Sea.

Funding

The project was awarded funding of €2,687,579 from the European Regional Development Fund through the Ireland Wales Cooperation programme.

Expertise

• Climate change
• Ornithology
• Species distribution modelling
• Wetland habitats
• Online platform development
• Earth Observation
• Web tools


ECHOES has applied innovative scientific approaches to modelling the behaviour and distribution of Greenland White-fronted Goose and Eurasian Curlew.

Through the project, online tools and services have been developed to help site managers and policy makers to understand how to best mitigate for the potential impacts of climate change on their sites. By creating tools for land managers, the ECHOES project has been actively promoting climate change adaptation, associated risk prevention, and management. The tools, which are part of the ECHOES Platform, enable land managers and policy makers to understand climate change and its potential impacts at both site and regional levels. 

An important aspect of the ECHOES project has been to engage with local stakeholders: those tasked with managing or monitoring coastal habitats and associated bird populations, as well as local communities and their visitors – those who enjoy the coastal environment.  

Raising the awareness of climate change impacts and how we can monitor, manage and adapt to these impacts has been one of our key priorities.