Minister Darragh O’Brien T.D., Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Minister of State Malcolm Noonan T.D. today announced the commencement of a formal consultation process on the future expansion of Ireland’s network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
The process of consultation with all stakeholders and the public is beginning with a series of interactive stakeholder engagements hosted by the independent expert Advisory Group appointed in December 2019 and chaired by Professor Tasman Crowe of the UCD Earth Institute.
Minister O’Brien stated that:
Minister Noonan and I very much welcome this process of stakeholder engagement which is being supported and facilitated by our Department. This represents the first stage of a broader, comprehensive consultation process on Marine Protected Areas which will continue in the coming months and which we committed to get under way in the first 100 days of Government.
Minister Noonan added that:
Marine Protected Areas provide added protection for vulnerable or endangered species, habitats and ecosystems, and help to nurture and maintain biodiversity in our oceans and seas. The future expansion of Ireland’s MPA network could also help us to combat the negative effects of climate change. It should therefore be targeted and underpinned by the best scientific evidence and advice, in order to deliver the best outcome.
Chair of the MPA Advisory Group, Professor Crowe, stated that:
Effective stakeholder engagement is essential to the development of a successful and durable network of Marine Protected Areas. We recognise that there is a great diversity of views and experience among stakeholders, and are delighted to be embarking on this new phase of dialogue to help us develop the best possible advice for the expansion of Ireland’s network of MPAs.
This liaison and discussion with representative bodies and organisations, seeking for example their views, ideas and perspectives, will take place through an online questionnaire and a series of moderated online meetings. All of this will go on to inform the work of the MPA Advisory Group in finalising its technical report and recommendations for the Minister in the Autumn.
As the second stage of the broader consultation process, Minister O’Brien and Minister of State Noonan intend to publish the final report of the Advisory Group upon its receipt, and to invite comments and views from the public on the future expansion of Ireland’s MPA network.
As an island nation, our seas are intrinsic to our environment, our culture and our economy. It is imperative that we do our utmost to keep them clean, healthy and productive,” said Minister O’Brien.
Minister of State Noonan added:
The marine environment is vital to our planet. It is no exaggeration to state that the collapse of marine ecosystems would represent an existential threat to our way of life and our well-being. With this in view, it is our stated intention to expand Ireland’s network of Marine Protected Areas to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goal target of 10% of our maritime area as soon as possible, and we aim to expand beyond this to 30% by 2030.
The MPA Advisory Group’s stakeholder engagement process commences on 18 August and will conclude on 18 September 2020.
Editors Notes
Marine Environmental Policy
The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government leads the preparation of Ireland’s Marine Strategy under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and the preparation of the National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF) on behalf of Government, with input from other Departments and Agencies.
Under the MSFD, good environmental status (GES) in the marine environment means that the seas are clean, healthy and productive and that human use of the marine environment is kept at a sustainable level. The assessment of the status of the marine environment and the determination of the characteristics of GES, including threshold values and environmental targets, inform decisions about how to use marine resources sustainably.
In this way, the achievement of GES supports the objectives of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and in particular, of the National Marine Planning Framework which is at public consultation until 28 February 2020.
Marine Protected Areas
The MSFD requires that a coherent and representative network of spatial protection measures including Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) be put in place where appropriate as part of Ireland’s programme of measures in order to achieve or maintain the GES of our national and shared maritime area (article 13.4).
MPAs can take a variety of forms ranging from exclusive marine reserves to areas allowing sustainable use and restricting specific activities. Ireland's future network may include the incorporation of existing marine Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) under the Birds or Habitats Directives. It may also incorporate protection measures established under the Common Fisheries Programme (CFP) and other conservation and protection measures.
MPAs can also play a role in mitigating the effects of climate change and ocean acidification by ensuring that the marine ecosystems are healthy and resilient and by safeguarding the marine environment’s current role as a natural carbon storage system.
Ireland, through the EU, is a party to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) which has agreed that:
"By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscape and seascape."
Ireland is committed in its National Biodiversity Action Plan (2017-2021) to extend the network of MPAs to meet the internationally agreed target of having a minimum of 10% of our marine area protected. This target for MPAs is also reflected in UN Sustainable Development (SDG) Goal 14.
MPA Expert Advisory Group
The Minister for Housing Planning and local Government announced on 23rd October 2019, the formation of an Advisory Group to provide expert advice and recommendations on the processes required and the challenges to be addressed in the expansion of Ireland’s MPA network. Professor Tasman Crowe, Director of the Earth Institute in UCD was appointed to Chair the group. The group’s first meeting took place on Wednesday 18th December 2019 in the Custom House, Dublin. Professor Crowe was joined by several senior experts under each of three subject areas:
Life and ocean sciences, 2) Economic, social and cultural perspectives, 3) Governance and Legislation
Since its launch the advisory group has met on a monthly basis, including remotely during the current Covid-19 pandemic, and it has been progressing its research, deliberations and discussions in a focused manner. The advisory group is going to conduct stakeholder forums in order to facilitate the sharing of views and perspectives on MPAs from key societal, community and sectoral interests, and to further inform the group's subsequent Final Report to the Department.
OSPAR Regional Sea Convention for the Protection of the North Eastern Atlantic Environment
The OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, of which Ireland is one of 16 Contracting Parties, requires Parties individually and jointly to take measures to protect and conserve the ecosystems and biological diversity. Ireland currently holds the Chair of the OSPAR Commission. By 1 October 2018, the OSPAR Network of MPAs comprised 496 MPAs, including 7 MPAs collectively designated in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. The sites have a total surface area of 864,337 km2 covering 6.4 % of the OSPAR Maritime Area. To date, the majority of designated OSPAR MPAs are located in territorial waters, with an overall coverage of 19.6 %.
OSPAR Region II, the Greater North Sea has an MPA coverage of 18.6 %. The Celtic Seas (Region III) and the Wider Atlantic (Region V) have 15.3 % and 8.3 % area designated within OSPAR MPAs, respectively. While coverage of the Bay of Biscay and Iberian Coast (Region IV) is at 5.9 %, the Arctic Waters (Region I) show the lowest coverage with 1.9% designated within OSPAR MPAs.
In order to achieve these national and international commitments, the Government intends to introduce enabling legislation to provide for the formal designation process of MPAs including the identification of conservation objectives and criteria, consultation processes, monitoring, review and management.
United Nations
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. Its recent Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (IPCC, Sept 2019) follows two other Special Reports on (i) Global Warming of 1.5°C, (ii) Climate Change and Land, and also the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.