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CONSERVATION NEWS
The Atlantic Ocean at Inishbofin, Co. Galway.
By Regina Classen, IWT Marine Policy and Research Officer
INTRODUCING FAIR SEAS: A NEW NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CAMPAIGN WITH THE MISSION TO BUILD A MOVEMENT OF OCEAN STEWARDSHIP TO PROTECT, CONSERVE AND RESTORE IRELAND’S UNIQUE MARINE ENVIRONMENT
Over the course of 2022, leading environmental groups, including the Irish Wildlife Trust, will join forces to launch a new campaign set to rapidly expand Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Irish waters. Together we have built a national coalition campaign called Fair Seas seeking to protect, conserve and restore Ireland’s unique marine environment.
Our ambition is to see Ireland become a world leader in marine protection by designating 10% of its waters as fully or highly protected areas by 2025 and at least 30% by 2030, giving our native species and habitats the opportunity to thrive. e Irish government has also set a target to designate 30% of its waters as MPAs by 2030. However there has been no commitment on the level of protection to be provided by these MPAs, other than the support of the principles of the EU Biodiversity Strategy which includes a call for 10% ‘strict’ protection by 2030 and 30% protection overall.
The current MPA coverage in Ireland is at a mere 2.1%, meaning a 15-fold increase is needed to reach the 2030 targets. In order to build support for well-managed MPAs among the public and make 10% fully or highly protected areas politically achievable, our mission is to build a movement of ocean stewardship across Ireland that energises and empowers people, to advocate for ambitious and robust legislation, provide impartial scientific data and research, and to propose a network of well-managed MPAs.
Fair Seas campaign manager Aoife O’Mahony says “In January 2022, Ireland showed its passion for the ocean by protecting our waters from Russian missile testing. Voices from the fishing industry, government, environmental groups and the public were all echoing the need for action to protect our marine biodiversity and commercially important fish stocks. Fair Seas is now calling on those same voices to ask the Irish government to follow up and secure a network of effective well-managed MPAs.”
Biodiversity: Ireland’s marine species, habitats and ecosystems are declining and face severe pressures from human activities. We now have the opportunity to conserve and restore our seas while developing a renewed sense of ocean stewardship across Ireland, helping our island nation become a world leader in marine protection and giving our species, habitats and coastal "VOICES FROM THE FISHING INDUSTRY, GOVERNMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS AND THE PUBLIC WERE ALL ECHOING THE NEED FOR ACTION TO PROTECT OUR MARINE BIODIVERSITY AND COMMERCIALLY IMPORTANT FISH STOCKS".
communities the opportunity to thrive.
Climate Change: Our ocean is one of the largest carbon sinks on the planet, but when the seafloor and marine habitats are disturbed its ability to store carbon is reduced. Phytoplankton, seafloor sediments, seagrass meadows and kelp forests are some of the key players in ocean carbon sequestration and storage. MPAs have the potential to sequester enormous amounts of carbon from the atmosphere and help us keep in line with targets set out in the Climate Action Act.
Legislation: In Ireland, there is currently no legal mechanism for designating MPAs. Fair Seas is asking our government to introduce robust and ambitious legislation so that our waters can be effectively protected, managed and monitored.
Stakeholder engagement: The designation and management of MPAs should be based on the best available scientific advice and
Spider crab in kelp
informed by early and sustained engagement with stakeholders and communities. Communities must be empowered to be the custodians of our natural and maritime heritage. The primary objectives of MPAs are to conserve biodiversity but they can also deliver broader cultural and socio-economic benefits when incorporated into a site objective and management plan.
Proposal for a well-managed MPA network: The campaign will publish its first expert report with a proposal for MPA locations this summer. Existing data of species and habitats occurrences from national and international surveys along with public sightings data were analysed to identify suitable areas for protection. The resulting proposal for an Irish MPA network will serve to kick-start the conversation around MPAs among stakeholders and policymakers at a time when national MPA legislation is being drafted by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The report will provide best-practice management recommendations and suggest MPA network criteria; outline the main pressures on the marine environment and identify knowledge gaps. This report will be the campaign’s main advocacy tool to influence the ambition in the legislation and build public support for an MPA network that consists of fully or highly protected areas.
The groups involved in the Fair Seas coalition include the Irish Environmental Network, the Sustainable Water Network, BirdWatch Ireland, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, Friends of the Irish Environment, Coomhola Salmon Trust, Coastwatch and the Irish Wildlife Trust. All of these organisations have been campaigning for many years for well-managed protected areas on land and in the sea. Currently, the only legal nature designations in Ireland’s seas are Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protection Areas (SPA). Ireland is legally obligated to maintain or restore these areas to a favourable conservation status under the EU Habitats (adopted in 1992) and Birds Directives (adopted in 1979). Even though these Directives have been in place for decades, the health of protected habitats and species has steeply declined since then. The underlying reason for the decline is poor implementation of EU legislation across the board, which has led to the EU Commission referring Ireland to the EU Court of Justice on more than one occasion. EU commission representative Aurel Ciobanu-Dordea at the Environment Ireland conference in January pointed to Ireland’s poor record on several fronts. He said “with less than 2.5 per cent of marine waters protected, this represents one of the poorest records across the Natura 2000 network in Europe,” and that “Ireland is the only member state that still has not fully transposed this [Environmental Impact Assessment] directive”, or indeed the Water Framework Directive. With such a poor record, it is especially important to have strong voices from the environmental NGO sector that are able to challenge government decisions in court if necessary. However, Mr Ciobanu-Dordea also pointed out the high court costs and negative media reporting faced by Irish NGOs when taking cases in national courts, saying that “it is highly unusual for an advanced society like Ireland to witness such conducts.” This systematic non-compliance with environmental laws while simultaneously oppressing those that might challenge any non-compliance is a truly toxic mix for nature.
The political will to protect the environment has historically been very low in Ireland. While the government is slowly learning to talk the talk, they are a long way from walking the walk. During a climate and biodiversity emergency, this snail’s pace is no longer acceptable. Fair Seas is inviting NGOs, the public and stakeholders from across the island of Ireland to come together to push for one clear common goal: well-managed MPAs. To achieve this, we will need to build a movement of ocean stewardship across the country that is too big to ignore.
Find out more about the Fair Seas campaign at www.fairseas.ie or contact us at info@fairseas.ie
The Irish Wildlife Trust remains involved in an EU-wide MPA campaign with Brussels-based organisation Seas At Risk. Under this campaign we are aiming for better management of existing MPAs (SACs and SPAs) through proper implementation of the Habitats Directive at an EU and national level. Find out more at www.mpas-europe.org
