Catchment Action for Local Management
Protecting Our Shared Waterways Together
Delivered by East Border Region in partnership with leading environmental & research organisations
Working Across Borders for Cleaner Rivers & Healthier Ecosystems
CALM is a cross-border environmental project tackling one of the most pressing challenges facing our rivers: too much nutrient and sediment washing into the water. Left unchecked, that pollution damages habitats, harms biodiversity and puts water quality at risk across the catchments we share.
Worth over €8.2 million and funded through the PEACEPLUS programme, CALM brings six partners together across Northern Ireland and Ireland to restore river habitats, cut pollution at source and build lasting community involvement in how our catchments are managed. The project was launched in Carlingford in March 2026.
Our Objectives
What We Set Out To Achieve
Improving water quality in targeted catchments
Developing a practical catchment strategy for managing nutrients
Growing community awareness and involvement in protecting local rivers
Building sustainable, repeatable nutrient management practices
Running a robust, transparent water chemistry monitoring campaign
Our partners in improving river health & ecological resilience
How We Do It
The work spans nature recovery, innovation, invasive species control and smarter nutrient management. That includes riparian fencing and planting, constructed wetlands and floodplain reconnection, controlling invasive species such as Himalayan Balsam and Giant Hogweed, and piloting new approaches like turning surplus slurry into biomethane.
Because water crosses borders, so does the project: partners on both sides coordinate their efforts so the whole catchment benefits, not just one stretch of it.
