Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have welcomed the final report of the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss which extends to the marine environment.
The report by 99 members of the Citizens’ Assembly carries 159 recommendations on how Ireland can improve its response to the biodiversity crisis.
The final report “echoes the overwhelming majority of recommendations championed by the Environmental Pillar”, the 32-member coalition of Irish environmental NGOs said.
Coastwatch, which is part of the Environmental Pillar, said that the core recommendations were “superb” and “if implemented, can turn decades of biodiversity loss around and give citizens rights to protect nature”.
“The assembly’s recommendation to not just designate 30% of Ireland’s maritime area as marine protected areas (MPAs) by 2030, but effectively manage this network of MPAs is crucial,” Coastwatch co-ordinator Karin Dubsky said.
“However, aquaculture doesn’t get a mention in the report, and the marine environment is under unprecedented pressure today. Ireland will need to do much more to ensure healthy seas into the future,” Dubsky said.
Environmental Pillar land use policy and advocacy officer Fintan Kelly said that the government “now has a clear mandate from the Irish people to redouble efforts to restore nature”.
“Through the Nature Restoration Law, which is currently being negotiated at an EU level, the government has a unique opportunity to immediately respond to the concerns of the Citizens Assembly by positively shaping the EU’s response to biodiversity loss and climate change,” he said.
“We call on the Irish government to play a positive role in negotiations and maximise the opportunity for the country and deliver the long-term support required to improve our relationship with nature across land and at sea,” Kelly said.
In a separate statement, the Fair Seas network said, "Immediate action and significant funding is needed to address Ireland’s biodiversity crisis”.
Fair Seas is committed to seeing a minimum of 30% of Irish waters designated and managed as MPAs by 2030, up from the current figure of 8%.
