Recommendations of the Irish Assembly on biodiversity January 2023
Recommendation (1): Designate and manage at least 30% of Irish waters as a Marine Protected Area The Irish Government committed to expanding Ireland’s network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in its 2020 Programme for Government, stating ‘We will realise our outstanding target of 10% under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive as soon as is practical and aim for 30% of marine protected areas by 2030’. It is only when designated areas are effectively managed for nature and achieving their conservation objectives, that they can positively contribute to reversing biodiversity loss. Unfortunately, the extent and the quality of Ireland’s current MPA network is poor, with only 2.1% of Ireland’s seas designated, and many sites lacking adequate management. Therefore, it is essential that the Irish Government fulfil previous environmental and biodiversity commitments, and begin the MPA legislative and designation process as soon as possible.
Recommendation (2): Implement ambitious marine conservation measures to ensure ‘Good Environmental Status’ of Ireland’s seas Ireland failed to achieve Good Environmental Status under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) for over half (6 out of 11) of the descriptors assessed in the latest 2020 report. The failing descriptors include ‘Biological Diversity’ as well as others that are closely linked to biological diversity including ‘Commercial fish & shellfish’, ‘Foodwebs’, ‘Seafloor integrity’, ‘Marine litter’ and ‘Energy including underwater noise’. The MSFD is an important legislative driver for obtaining ‘ecologically diverse, dynamic oceans and seas which are clean, healthy and productive’. An ambitious suite of marine conservation measures, with adequate resourcing is needed to ensure Good Environmental Status for all descriptors is achieved.
Recommendation (3): Invest in restoration programmes to recover our most vulnerable and biodiverse coastal habitats and endangered species Establishing priority habitat restoration zones, including a focus on ‘blue carbon’ habitats which help capture and store away carbon from the atmosphere (e.g., seagrass, saltmarsh, shellfish reefs), will help tackle Ireland’s biodiversity, water quality and climate crises. This process should be codeveloped alongside the expansion of Ireland’s MPA network.
Recommendation (4): Review and amend the National Marine Planning Framework to ensure planning decisions are considerate of whole ecosystems The Sustainable Water Network recently published an assessment 7 of the National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF), and found that its lack of adequate spatial planning or ecosystem‐based approach means the mistakes of poor planning on land risk being repeated at sea. Without an ecosystem‐based approach to consenting and regulating activities and developments at sea, it is unlikely the NMPF will contribute positively to the achievement of Good Environmental Status in Irish waters. The NMPF needs to be reviewed and amended to explicitly address these concerns.
Recommendation (5): Implement an ambitious and effective National Biodiversity Action Plan to jumpstart nature’s recovery in Ireland Considering Ireland’s seas are over seven times the size of its land mass, much of Ireland’s biodiversity occurs in the marine environment. A new, ambitious and comprehensive plan to tackle Ireland’s marine biodiversity loss is fundamentally important to the future health of our seas, as well as the survival of nationally and globally important species and habitats which are already rare, vulnerable and threatened in our waters.
Recommendation (6): Pursue the full implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy to ensure fishing is sustainable, and MPAs are effectively managed The rigorous and full implementation of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is essential to achieve the sustainable management of all commercially exploited species. Putting an end to overfishing and driving the recovery of fish stocks, the CFP should also contribute to the protection of the marine environment, and in particular to the achievement of Good Environmental Status under the MSFD. Fisheries management in current and future MPAs (offshore and inshore) is crucial to secure an ecologically coherent and well‐managed network of MPAs. Fortunately, the CFP provides the mechanisms for implementing conservation measures within offshore and inshore MPAs, including fisheries management. However, to date these mechanisms are underused and failing. Ireland must pursue and implement all aspects of the CFP to help secure well‐managed protected areas, healthy seas, and a strong, sustainable fishing industry.
Recommendation (7): Ireland creates a new Government Ministerial role for biodiversity, that amongst other things, facilitates a marine biodiversity National Coordination Body, and advocates for biodiversity at a cross departmental level. Recommendation (8): Ireland creates a marine biodiversity National Coordination Body to have responsibility for the implementation of MPAs, the achievement of GES, and wider marine conservation and restoration initiatives. Recommendation (9): Ireland enacts a Future Generations and Environment Bill which ensures that all future legislative and policy decisions in Ireland must account for its impact on the future generations of Irish people, Irish biodiversity, and the health of the environment.
Recommendation (10): On the international stage, Ireland commits to the Universal Declaration of Ocean Rights to legally recognise and protect the intrinsic value of the ocean. Recommendation (11): Nature, biodiversity and natural environment topics are taught as part of the mainstream National and Secondary school curricula in Ireland.
Recommendation (12): Greater involvement of Ireland’s youth in policy and legislative decision making across Government, not solely confined to matters of the environment. Recommendation (13): Actions taken to tackle biodiversity loss should become Governmental ‘core responsibilities’ and funded in the long‐term through the current budget system. However, the Government should explore additional revenue raising powers such as a biodiversity levy on industries profiting from the sea.