A €4.2 million initiative involving experts in the field of coastal erosion, climate change and marine law was set in motion yesterday in Cork Harbour by a group of specialists working in University College Cork.
Experts from five countries invited by the Coastal and Marine Resources Centre at UCC carried out an inspection of the harbour yesterday as part of the Corepoint initiative where it is hoped international experience can be used to steer local development.
The centre's project manager, Mr Jeremy Gault, said: "In the Cork Harbour area, topical issues include waste management, the planned incinerator, reclamation of old industrial sites such as ISPAT and IFI, ongoing pressure from development of new marinas, and water quality.
"These issues, whilst important for our region, are not unique but are common to the coastlines of Ireland and Europe. In many instances, coastal management issues can be very difficult to resolve in an amicable and effective manner.
"By drawing on the vast experience of the panel of expertise it is hoped to provide some potential international solutions to a local problem," he said.
One aim of the Corepoint project is to bring research centres and local authorities closer together and enable them to improve planning for local coastal areas and already the coastal and marine centre and Cork County Council have teamed up to help provide effective planning for Cork Harbour, Mr Gault said.
A similar partnership will be undertaken between Donegal County Council and the University of Ulster in Coleraine and between a number of other research centres and local authorities in other countries across North-West Europe, he added.