Mourning the Mournes – Don’t Let It Happen
I mentioned Martin Carey of the Mournes Heritage Trust who introduced us to the Trails and Tales of The Mournes at the recent ResponsibleTourism Conference in Dublin. It was so exciting to see and hear about local communities getting together with the help of local government funding to upkeep and invest in this natural landscape of breathtaking beauty!
However, now the Mourne Heritage Trust needs your help:
Use the Hashtag #LoveMourne, Sign the Petition and Spread the word – Nature Needs A Hero Peeps!
#LoveMourne
Mourne Heritage Trust needs your help. We have been on the end of a huge cut to our budgets. A letter from the Department of the Environment explains that funding from Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) will cease from 30th June 2015. This amounts to a 75% cut in the funding from NIEA for 2015/16 and means that as of the 1st July 2015 NIEA will have no financial provision for management of the Mourne Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Not only was the AONB designation made by government but the Agency established Mourne Heritage Trust in 1997 to meet an identified need for locally based management. While we appreciate the difficult public funding situation our government is in, we are astonished that NIEA would propose to walk away from our very successful partnership at a time when recreation in and appreciation of the Mournes has never been more popular.
If this funding cut is not mitigated our ability to provide the basic visitor services around infrastructure like pathways, amenity sites, car parks and control of litter and erosion will be constrained. Our work to protect and enhance biodiversity will suffer. And we have over £1 million in offers of funding from sources like the Heritage Lottery, BIG Lottery, Interreg and Arts Council for heritage projects and these are jeopardised by the loss of core funding.
The Mournes is an asset for tourism, recreation, education, and health and well-being.
Please help us keep it the way you love it by signing this petition.
Environmental groups face huge cuts to budgets
If you would like to read up about the work we do visit www.mournelive.com
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