New Map of Irish Wetlands launched with increased functionality

A new enhanced version of the Map of Irish Wetlands has just been published by Dr Peter Foss (Foss Environmental Consulting) and Dr Patrick Crushell (Wetland Surveys Ireland). This project was developed jointly on a voluntary basis by the two ecologists and is the only centralised map of all wetlands that occur in Ireland.

The Map of Irish Wetlands (MIW) is now displayed as an ESRI web map application, with additional functionality including searching for site by name, the addition of boundaries for designated sites, the ability to change the base map and other technical functions. 

The main aim of the Map of Irish Wetlands project is to provide the user with information relating to wetland sites across Ireland. The MIW displays information on 12,800+ Irish wetlands, both within the state network of protected areas and outside this network, originating from a wide variety of sources. It is the only map which is freely available to show information on all Irish wetlands. 

The location of sites is displayed on the web map with additional information presented in a pop up window on each site which includes: site name, wetland habitats present, ecological interest and conservation status, source of additional site information and site photograph. 

Created in 2012, the on-line Map of Irish Wetlands, was intitially displayed on the Google Maps platform from 2013 to 2019.

As Dr. Foss explains “We hope the new Map of Irish Wetlands resource developed as an ESRI web map, with increased functionality and the inclusion of designated site boundaries, will be of use to a range of professionals and general public who are interested in identifying the wetland biodiversity resource in a given area.”