Completed June 2008
The project ran from 2005 - 2008 and was funded under the Ireland/Wales INTERREG IIIA Community Initiative Programme 2000-2006.
Aggregates (sand and gravel) are essential products for the development and maintenance of infrastructure. Economically viable on-land sources in Britain and Ireland are rapidly diminishing, and in order to sustain competitive economic development, alternative sources need to be found.
Significant marine aggregate deposits are available in the southern Irish Sea, and these can contribute to competitive regional development. The exploitation of these resources must, however, be carried out in an environmentally sustainable way and take into account other legitimate uses of the area such as nature conservation, fishing and navigation.
IMAGIN brings together an Ireland/Wales scientific consortium comprising organisations with expertise in coastal processes, geology and marine resource management for the purpose of developing a strategic framework and scientific rationale to underpin future policy development for Irish Sea aggregates. It is intended that this framework, once developed, will provide the operational guidelines and regulatory processes necessary for the environmentally sustainable management of Irish Sea aggregates.
More information on the project can be found here.
