HUGE OPPORTUNITY TO PROTECT IRELAND’S MARINE ENVIRONMENT

Huge opportunity to protect Ireland’s marine environment. Fair Seas says climate and nature fund offers huge opportunity to protect Ireland’s marine environment.

Fair Seas says ringfencing 2% of the new €3bn ‘Climate and Nature War Chest’  would enable the government to deliver on the promised Marine Protected Area commitments. This would help Ireland reach its committed targets of protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030. The fund, announced as part of Budget 2024 is the first of its kind in the world and prioritises environmental projects.

The coalition of leading environmental non-governmental organisations and networks is campaigning for strong and ambitious Marine Protected Areas (MPA) legislation to be enacted without delay. Earlier this year, Fair Seas published the first Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Finance Report in Europe highlighting the cost to conserve and restore vital marine ecosystems.

Fair Seas estimates that €55 million will be needed to adequately fund MPA designation and ongoing management until 2030, a mere 2% of the overall ‘Climate and Nature War Chest’. The report also shows how full protection of the marine ecosystem would be cheaper, and more effective, than partial protection.

Aoife O’Mahony, Fair Seas Campaign Manager says:

“The Climate and Nature Fund offers a huge opportunity to deliver for nature and to protect the vital resource that is the ocean. As an island nation we have a responsibility to conserve and restore our marine environment as we strive to combat the biodiversity and climate crises. This fund must be used to enact and implement strong and effective Marine Protected Area legislation immediately. The MPA bill 2023 was promised in June 2023 and we are still waiting. We are failing to meet our targets to protect 30% of our seas and ocean by 2030. The 28% increase in today’s budget for the NPWS is essential to ensure the current marine protected areas in Ireland can be effectively managed.”

As part of its campaign for MPA legislation, Fair Seas wants to see binding targets committing to effectively protecting 30% of the seas around Ireland by 2030, with 10% strictly protected. The group is calling for stakeholder engagement at every stage, clear delivery timeframes and a robust management framework, with targeted, site-specific measures to ensure MPAs deliver for nature.

The ‘Sustainably Financing Ireland’s Marine Protected Area Network’ report is available to read on the Fair Seas website.

The group has also launched a national petition to have the Marine Protected Areas Bill enacted without delay. To sign the petition visit https://only.one/act/30×30-ireland

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