This presentation is from the EPA's FP7 Environment National Information Day 2010. For further information, see http://www.fp7ireland.com/

1. FP7-Environment
National Information Day 2010
EXPERIENCE AND LESSONS FROM
COILLTE’S LIFE PROJECTS
Philip Murphy
Manager, EU Affairs
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 1
National Information Day

2. COILLTE
Coillte is a commercial company operating in
forestry, wood panel products, land based
businesses and renewable energy.
Coillte employs 1,100 people and owns over
445,000 hectares of land, about 7% of the land
cover in Ireland.
From certified forestry and forest products to
world class recreation and renewable energy,
Coillte manages its forests in a sustainable way.
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 2
National Information Day

3. COILLTE AND LIFE-NATURE
COILLTE HAS IMPLEMENTED THREE LIFE-NATURE
PROJECTS FROM 2002 TO 2009:
LIFE02 NAT/IRL/008490 “RESTORING ACTIVE BLANKET BOG
IN IRELAND” www.Irishbogrestorationproject.ie
LIFE04 NAT/IE/000121 “RESTORING RAISED BOG IN IRELAND”
www.raisedbogrestoration.ie
LIFE05 NAT/IRL/000182 “RESTORING PRIORITY WOODLAND
HABITATS IN IRELAND” www.woodlandrestoration.ie
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 3
National Information Day

4. BLANKET BOG PROJECT
CORE TEAM: Kevin Donnellan, Caroline White, John
Conaghan, Ciara Burke, Philip Murphy & Site Managers
TOTAL COST = €4.2M; LIFE AID @ 75% = €3.147M
DURATION 2002-2007; 20 SITES MOSTLY IN WEST
TOTAL AREA = 1989 HA
TREE CROP REMOVAL = 980 HA
DRAIN BLOCKING = 1550 HA
FENCING = 555 HA
REMOVE NATURAL REGENERATION AS NECESSARY
PR/EDUCATION
END-OF-PROJECT CONFERENCE 4-5 OCTOBER 2007
FINAL TECHNICAL & FINANCIAL REPORTS SUBMITTED TO EU
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 4
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5. 6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 5
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6. 6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 6
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7. 6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 7
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8. BLANKET BOG PROJECT
MAIN POINTS
TOTAL COST = €4.2M; LIFE AID @ 75% = €3.147M
DURATION 1ST JULY 2002 – 31ST DECEMBER 2007
20 SITES MOSTLY IN WEST – NONE IN N3
TOTAL AREA = 1989 HA
TREE CROP REMOVAL = 980 HA
DRAIN BLOCKING = 1550 HA
FENCING = 720 HA
REMOVE NATURAL REGENERATION AS NECESSARY
PR/EDUCATION
END-OF-PROJECT CONFERENCE 4-5 OCTOBER 2007
FINAL TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL REPORTS TO GO July 2008
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 8
National Information Day

9. RAISED BOG PROJECT
CORE TEAM: Michael Delaney, Angela Wallace, John Derwin,
Richard Clear, Philip Murphy & Site Managers
TOTAL COST = €2.5M; LIFE AID @ 75% = €1.875M
DURATION = 2004–2008; 14 SITES IN MIDLANDS
TOTAL AREA = 571 HA; TREE CROP REMOVAL = 450 HA
DRAIN BLOCKING = 571 HA; FENCING = 320 HA
REMOVE NATURAL REGENERATION AS NECESSARY
CONSULTATION TO SECURE CONTROL OF TURBARY RIGHTS
PR/EDUCATION
END-OF-PROJECT CONFERENCE 8-9 MAY 2008
FINAL TECHNICAL & FINANCIAL REPORTS SUBMITTED TO EU
FINAL PAYMENT RECEIVED
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 9
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10. 6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 10
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11. 6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 11
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12. 6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 12
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13. PRIORITY WOODLAND PROJECT
CORE TEAM: Sean Quealy, Breda Lyons, Ian Herbert, Ger Daly/Michael
Higgins, Philip Murphy & Site Managers
TOTAL COST = €2.595M; LIFE AID @ 50% = €1.305M
DURATION = 2006–2009; 9 SITES IN MIDLANDS & WEST
TOTAL AREA = 550.8 HA; CLONBUR 292.9 HA
FOUR HABITAT TYPES – ALLUVIAL – BOG – YEW – LIMESTONE PAVEMENT
REMOVE EXOTIC TREES/SHRUBS & ENCOURAGE REGENERATION OF NATIVES
REMOVE NATURAL REGENERATION AS NECESSARY
PUT IN PLACE CONDITIONS WHICH WOULD ALLOW PRIORITY WOODLAND TO
REGENERATE IN FUTURE YEARS
PR/EDUCATION
END-OF-PROJECT CONFERENCE 6-7 OCTOBER 2009
FINAL TECHNICAL & FINANCIAL REPORTS SUBMITTED TO EU
FINAL PAYMENT AWAITED – 10 MONTHS IS SAID TO BE TYPICAL, CAN BE
LONGER
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 13
National Information Day

14. PRIORITY WOODLAND HABITATS
Alluvial woodland Bog woodland
Limestone pavement
Yew
woodland
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 14
National Information Day

15. THIS PRESENTATION
LESSONS LEARNED DURING THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROJECTS
MANAGERIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE
LESSONS – WIDER INTEREST
RATHER THAN TECHNICAL LESSONS -
NARROWER INTEREST
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 15
National Information Day

16. CONSISTENT APPROACH
WE HAD NO PARTNERS – MUCH EASIER
TO MANAGE
INFORMAL CORE TEAM – DAY TO DAY
WORK
FORMAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT GROUP –
MEETING QUARTERLY
WIDER PROJECT ADVISORY PANEL –
MEETING YEARLY
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 16
National Information Day

17. CORE TEAM
PROJECT MANAGER – HALF TIME
PR/ADMIN MANAGER – FULL TIME
PROJECT ECOLOGIST – PART TIME
PROJECT ACCOUNTANT – PART TIME
EU LIAISON (MANAGER, EU AFFAIRS) –
PART TIME
SITE MANAGERS – PART TIME
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 17
National Information Day

18. PROJECT ACCOUNTANT
MUST:
BE INTERESTED, CAPABLE, ORGANISED
BE COMFORTABLE WITH EXCEL
ARRANGE FOR TIMESHEETS, COST CENTRES
AND COST CODES
PROVIDE MONTHLY AND QUARTERLY
FINANCIAL REPORTS TO PM AND PMG
PROVIDE VERY DETAILED FINANCIAL INTERIM
AND FINAL REPORTS TO EU - BE AWARE
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 18
National Information Day

19. KEY POINTS
CONTINUOUSLY REVIEW DELIVERABLES,
MILESTONES, DEADLINES, FINANCES
ORGANISE AND HOST AN ANNUAL VIST BY THE
COMMISSION’S EXTERNAL MONITORING TEAM
(MAY INCLUDE A ONCE-OFF VISIT BY THE
COMMISSION’S TECHNICAL & FINANCIAL DESK
OFFICERS)
PREPARE AND SUBMIT STANDARDISED ANNUAL
PROGRESS REPORTS – TECHNICAL AND
FINANCIAL
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 19
National Information Day

20. RELATIONSHIPS
LIFE DESK OFFICERS
EXTERNAL MONITOR
SEEK ADVICE, THEN TAKE IT!
NATIONAL COMPETENT
AUTHORITIES
CONSULTATION
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 20
National Information Day

21. LEAD-IN TIME
EVEN IF APPROVED IN AUGUST
START-UP NEXT 1ST JANUARY
USE THE TIME TO ASSEMBLE YOUR
CORE TEAM AND INVITE EXTERNAL
REPS FOR PMG & PAP
APPLY FOR ANY PERMITS OR LICENCES
NEEDED FROM STATE AGENCIES
HIT THE GROUND RUNNING
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 21
National Information Day

22. EXPERIENCE AND LESSONS
STRATEGIC HABITAT BENEFITS
LANDSCAPE BENEFITS
DEVELOPMENT OF EXPERTISE IN WRITING
FUNDING APPLICATIONS & REPORTS
DEVELOPMENT OF EXPERTISE IN HABITAT
RESTORATION
DEVELOPMENT OF EXPERTISE IN PROJECT
MANAGEMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL PR
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 22
National Information Day

23. WE MUST HAVE BEEN DOING
SOMETHING RIGHT
LIFE04 RAISED BOG – SELECTED BY
EU/MEMBER STATES AS AMONG 23 BEST
IN EUROPE FINISHED/REVIEWED IN 2009
LIFE05 PRIORITY WOODLAND – NATIONAL
WINNER IRELAND 2009 FOR THE UN-
AFFILIATED ENERGY GLOBE AWARD FOR
SUSTAINABILITY
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 23
National Information Day

24. VALUE OF LIFE-NATURE
HAS AIDED COILLTE’S NATURE CONSERVATION
PROGRAMME
3,000HA OF PRIORITY HABITATS RESTORED
HAS CHANGED HOW COILLTE VIEWS THE
MANAGEMENT OF PRIORITY HABITATS
HAS DEMONSTRATED HOW MUCH MORE COULD
BE DONE ON COILLTE’S ESTATE AND ELSEWHERE
IN IRELAND
SINCERE THANKS TO LIFE PROGRAMME
6 October 2010 FP7-Environment 24
National Information Day