The Collaborative Action for the Natura Network (CANN) – a consortium of public bodies, third-level institutions, charities and local government authorities from Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland lead by Newry, Mourne & Down District Council NMDDC - will deliver direct conservation actions across 3,105 ha of Special Areas of Conservation to contribute towards the programme output of 4,500 ha of habitats supported in order to improve conservation status. This will contribute towards the programme specific result ‘to increase the total area of these habitats approaching favourable conservation status from the current baseline of 1% to over 10% of selected protected habitats by 2023.’ The jurisdictional border in Ireland has hampered efforts to manage the peatland resource across the country. Currently there are no cross-border networks that allow managers to co-operate, share information and implement landscape scale conservation. INTERREG VA provides us with this opportunity. We will produce conservation action plans for 25 Special Areas of Conservation across six of the seven priority habitats: alkaline fens, blanket bog, active raised bog, hard oligo-mesotrophic waters (marl lakes), calcareous fens, and transition mires/quaking bogs. Across the three jurisdictions, the seven priority habitats are in ‘unfavourable’ condition. The continuing decline of these unique habitats and species is a global issue and ensuring protection and restoration is an obligation for all EU Member States. We will also produce site-specific species action plans for the INTERREG VA priority species: white-clawed crayfish, hen harrier, breeding waders (curlew, redshank, snipe), golden plover, and red grouse.