Ireland will fulfil commitment to protect 30% of marine areas by 2030 - Minister

Ireland will fulfil its commitment to make protect 30 per cent of the State’s marine areas by 2023, Minister for Heritage Darragh O’Brien said on Wednesday night.

Malcolm Noonan, the Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, had previously made the commitment at COP15 in Montreal, Canada last year. A large number of other countries have signalled a willingness to consider a similar policy, while the High Seas Treaty agreed by the United Nations in March will designate 30 per cent of international waters protected.

Mr O’Brien made the pledge on Wednesday evening while speaking at a National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) seminar in Malahide, Co Dublin. He said: “Ireland has an extensive marine area that is rich in biodiversity and provides huge benefits for health and wellbeing, supports a myriad of coastal communities and is an important component of climate adaptation.

“We have signalled our intention to meet these targets by increasing the marine area in our Natura Network from just over 2 per cent of our waters two years ago, to almost 10 per cent today. 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.”

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The seminar is a three-day event being held along with the European Commission and is one of a series that brings EU member states together to assess how the EU’s long-term biodiversity strategy is progressing. Part of this strategy is putting legal protection in place for at least 30 per cent of EU terrestrial and marine areas by 2030.

Mr Noonan, who will speak at the seminar on Friday, said: “Ireland is proud and determined not just to play its part, but to lead in protecting our irreplaceable marine biodiversity ... Reversing the decline of our biodiversity requires practical action from all of us – governments, civil society, the scientific community and members of the public. Ireland can and will lead by example.”

Director general of the NPWS Niall O’Donnchú said: “We welcome this opportunity to come together with our European colleagues to address this common challenge ... While there is much to learn from the experience of other countries, Ireland has also shown that it has much to offer.”

Other speakers at the event include scientific experts, government officials from across the EU and Andrea Vettori, head of the nature conservation unit at the EU’s directorate-general of the environment, whose mission is to protect and preserve the environment for the future.