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Project Code [COALESCE/2019/43]
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Project title
Irish Droughts: Environmental and Cultural Memories of a Neglected Hazard
Primary Funding Agency
Irish Research Council
Co-Funding Organisation(s)
n/a
Lead Organisation
University College Dublin (UCD)
Project Abstract
Drought is an overlooked hazard in Ireland. Until this Summer (2018), the past thirty years had been anomalously drought-free, yet multi-year periods with limited precipitation have been historically common in Ireland, particularly in eastern and southeastern regions. Bringing together an interdisciplinary research team, this project will integrate long observational series, oral, documentary and tree-ring archives to reconstruct the frequency, severity and spatial extent of historic Irish droughts from the Middle Ages to present. The project will capitalize upon this reconstruction to investigate, in particular, rural societal impacts and examine adaptive and innovative practices that communities employed to cope with past droughts, as well as how these strategies have evolved through time. Drawing upon international collaborations with Canadian colleagues currently examining watershed management and drought mitigation strategies in a temperate agricultural region, this project will further our understanding of the drivers and consequences of severe droughts, identify transferable lessons for future drought management and support Irish communities and government agencies in building greater rural resilience to a forgotten hazard. Given the pervasive nature of drought hazards our research will contribute to SDG2 Sustainable agriculture and food security; SDG6 Sustainable water management and sanitation for all; SDG9 Resilient infrastructure and sustainable industrialisation; SDG11 Sustainable cities and human settlements; SDG13 Climate action and impacts, and; SDG15 Sustainable ecosystems and biodiversity.
Grant Approved
�219,000.00
Research Theme
Ireland's Future Climate, its Impacts, and Adaptation Options
Initial Projected Completion Date
During 2021