Ireland has reaffirmed a pledge to protect 30 per cent of Ireland’s marine areas by 2030.
Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien reaffirmed the original commitment made by Minister of State for Heritage Malcolm Noonan at a seminar involving the European Commission in Malahide, Dublin.
In a new “Message from Malahide”, O’Brien told delegates from nine member states attending a European Commission seminar in Dublin about “Ireland’s significant progress in meeting the targets to protect marine areas as outlined in the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030”.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is hosting the three-day seminar in Malahide, Co. Dublin, together with the European Commission.
The event is one of a series and brings member states together to assess progress on the EU Biodiversity Strategy, an ambitious, long term plan for protecting nature and reversing the degradation of ecosystems.
The strategy contains specific actions and commitments, including targets for a larger EU–wide network of protected areas on land and sea.
This includes legal protection of at least 30% of EU terrestrial and marine areas by 2030.
The European Commission has requested member states to supply voluntary pledges indicating their contribution to the Biodiversity Strategy 2030 protected area targets.
“We have signalled our intention to meet these targets by increasing the marine area in our Natura Network from just over 2% of our waters two years ago, to almost 10% today,” O’Brien said.
“ New legislation, the Marine Protected Areas Bill is also in progress which will legally underpin the designation of Marine Protected Areas. These actions, along with my department’s pledge here today, demonstrate real commitment to protecting our marine biodiversity,” he said.
A number of national and European NGOs are attending the seminar.
Speakers include Andrea Vettori, Head of the Nature Conservation Unit at the EU’s DG Environment, EU Commission, scientific experts, and government officials from across Europe who outlined their own country pledges and approaches to meeting targets.
The Biogeographical seminar for the Atlantic and the Macaronesian marine biogeographical regions takes place from October 11th until 13th.
The seminar is hosted jointly by the European Commission’s DG Environment and NPWS.