South West Regional Authority

Sunday 05 February 2012

TRAP Project – Territories of Rivers Action Plans Project Awarded EU Funding

Media Release – Issued by South West Regional Authority – 6th February 2012

The South West Regional Authority, in cooperation with Mid West Regional Authority & Shannon Development, are about to embark on a European Union Funded Project under the INTERREG IVC Programme, in partnership with other EU countries, namely: Finland, Greece, Latvia, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia and UK.
On the 15th of December 2011 the Monitoring Committee of the INTERREG IVC Programme approved the Territories of Rivers Action Plans Project (TRAP). 
The overall objective of the TRAP project is to benefit from the interregional exchange and analyse, contextualise and transfer good practices in integrated water and landscape management among the partner regions.
On the 28th & 29th March 2012, the TRAP Project will be officially launched in Bucharest, Romania.  As part of this Project launch, an international workshop will be held during the kick off meeting to clarify the Water Framework Directive and the European Landscape Convention. The Irish partners will be attending both the kick off meeting and the international workshop.  The seminar will be attended by delegates from all the participating countries as well as dignitaries and interested parties from Romania and further afield. 
The TRAP Project will continue for a period of 3 years.  During the project duration, each Partner region will test and implement a series of tools for dealing both with economic competitiveness and environmental sustainability.
The economic downturn has made these issues even more pressing. The European Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth "Europe 2020 Strategy” addresses these challenges – aiming to stimulate growth and create more and better jobs, while making the economy greener and more innovative. TRAP will integrate the Water Framework Directive, Convention on Landscapes and the EU 2020 Strategy in the service of river management, implementing good practices.
The main results of the TRAP project will be as follows
• Improved policy tools and understanding of integrated river management
• Strengthening of consensus and policy coherence for integrated river management
• Accelerated implementation of the Water Framework Directive and the European Landscape Convention at regional Level.
The South West Regional Authority as the body responsible for strategic development of the South West has always made use of every opportunity to enhance the region and the opportunities for development of the quality of life of the inhabitants.  We have had considerable success in identifying good practices through our projects; these good practices have also influenced regional policy development. 
Through the FRESH project and other previous recent projects in the region (AT Ventures, AT Clusters and RethE) we have accrued important benefits to the region in the areas of clustering, entrepreneurship and sustainability. In the South West Regional Authority, we feel that it is imperative that we build on these positive experiences and focus on these themes further with our future projects. We will endeavour to continue to work on these themes in the future with suitable partners.
The project builds integrated river management on three “pillars” of European policy:  Water Framework Directive (with all the associated supporting legislation), The European Convention of Landscapes and the European Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth "Europe 2020 Strategy”.The European Water Framework Directive (2000) has been developed in response to the increasing threat of pollution and the increasing demand from the public for cleaner rivers, lakes and beaches. This Directive establishes a framework for the protection of all waters including rivers, lakes, estuaries, coastal waters and groundwater, and their dependent wildlife/habitats under one piece of environmental legislation.
The European Landscape Convention (Florence Declaration, 2000) declares that landscape plays an important role in human fulfilment. Landscape has an important role in culture, ecology, environment and society, and constitutes a resource for economic development, particularly tourism. Unfortunately, developments have often damaged the landscapes or obliterated their distinctiveness. The objectives of the Convention are to promote landscape protection, management and planning of Europe’s landscapes and to organise European cooperation on landscape issues. Rivers and their surrounding landscapes are inter-dependent and the TRAP project seeks to integrate the two. The Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs recognises that Europe faces major structural challenges – globalisation, climate change and an ageing population.

For more details on the TRAP Project please contact Sonya Quinn: squinn@swra.ie office phone 021 4876877