12th June 2026

Coastal Monitoring and Adaptation Planning (CMAP) Project

Researchers Axel Leahy and Kate Sanders at the CMAP Launch in Belfast hosted by Ulster University

Since 2025, the Beaches and Dunes Network has been working closely with the Coastal Monitoring and Adaptation Planning (CMAP) Project – a €9 million cross-border initiative funded through PEACEPLUS which aims to develop new and sustainable approaches to managing coastal and marine environments in the border counties of both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Strandhill Beach, Co. Sligo

Recent CMAP events hosted by the University of Galway include the first in a series of Coastal Adaptation Workshops for the Strandhill community, a Coastal Monitoring Exhibition at the Surf Centre in Strandhill, and multiple marram grass planting sessions with local schools at Strandhill and Grattan Beach.

Ballymastocker Bay, Fanad, Co. Donegal

Additionally, the first-round survey of the coastal monitoring sites has been conducted at Ballymastocker Bay in Fanad, producing LiDAR and photogrammetry imagery to measure the changing coastline.

LiDAR Drone at Ballymastocker Bay

Moving forward, CMAP will also establish CoastSnap outposts to gather data from beachgoers as a citizen science initiative. This data repository will be used to examine coastal change over time, in order to develop targeted and sustainable strategies for at-risk Irish beaches and dunes.