COASTWATCH EUROPE Value, Protection and Management

Coastwatch Europe Civil & Environmental Engineering Trinity College Dublin College Green, Dublin 2 Rep. of Ireland

T +353 (0)53 942 5843

M +353 (0)86 811 1684

E KDubsky@Coastwatch.org

INVOLVING CITIZENS IN PROTECTING OUR COASTAL WATERS

KARIN DUBSKY, COASTWATCH

Sea and Seashore

Our last commons

We love it

We need to know and

Understand it

OUR REPONSIBILITY

TO LOOK AFTER.

ITS OUR PRIVILIDGE TO USE

We Must USE WISELY

in Ramsar Convention meaning of ‘wise’.

Dredging and Dumping EPA

Coastwatch survey – Dublin Bay

Aarhus meeting Geneva Oct 2012

Core Points to protecting waters Protect From What?

Usually from human dark side – our tendency towards greed, acting while ignorant, accidents, short term decisions.

How?

Many ways - from spreading informed support and love/pride for our waters to management, monitoring, control and enforcement.

MUST include: Timely adequate Information, public participation and access to justice.

Protect from damage or further damage and restore

Case 1

A long time ago Tramore Landfill Site was borne.

Here Co Waterford ‘Wetland waste land’

(saltmarsh and mudflat with seagrass)

turned into higher ground with development potential, while solving waste disposal problems!

It continued no matter how local public and Coastwatch complained!

After 13.5 years the ECJ waste case

decided that the waste mountain was to be moved or habitat loss compensated.

For the first time citizens were included in deliberations.

Compensation and site were decided upon.

• Farmland once taken from the sea was bought. After much engineering, with new dyke creation,

the old dyke was breached in April 2013.

Our first Irish Managed Retreat: The sea can enter.

Mudflat and saltmarsh will be created.

However

Monitoring is not set up Can we totally trust the new dyke?

Who is to ensure public information and participation.

Looking back: No timely checks and stops Blind to ecosystem services Critical public ignored. Public message? Took far too long to rectify Environmental costs still high. Any liability or consequences? The tax payer pays the bills. FUTURE - WE MUST: - on this site: Ensure full public information and participation in monitoring and management. - general: Put enough checks and balances in place to avoid similar in new guises.

Inshore -Stunning and Valuable

Case 2 Aquaculture is set to expand within months

with EU funding.

PREPARED????

“BIM’s continuing to host an online version of the EIS on its website on a non-statutory courtesy basis was done purely as a public service to facilitate the provision of information regarding the project.” BIM quote re Galway Bay ‘offshore deep sea’ salmon farm

Aquaculture Castlemaine Harbour Minister’s decision to grant > 30 licenses in May 2013

• ‘Licences have not issued in relation to these decisions and will not be available until the public notice period is complete and/or the situation is known in relation to possible appeals from ALAB’. Official response to Coastwatch request for license

conditions

• Art 19A extra to Fisheries Act to cater for continuation of aquaculture activities as though they had a license. Lough Swilly N2000 site license 8 years.

• No pp in change of law. Serious env impacts proliferate unchecked – Gigas, cumulative effects, No democratic process in review of licenses. Bad practise not checked

Law Enforcement: Oct 2012 Mussel Seed dredging reopened in Ireland, despite mussel overfishing warnings from within industry and a decline in spat. 1 clear exclusion condition: No fishing in protected sites.

Map of SE Irish coast Long Bank marine SAC & Wexford Harbour SAC/SPA. Mussel seed fishing took place in and around these N 2000 sites in Oct 2012 with up to 8 large vessels. Authorities notified did not halt them for 5 days. The media notified decided not to cover it. Local small fishermen were distraught, but did not speak out publically.

Impacts:

• Given the dredge method and time allowed

this must have had env. impact on the site.

But we don’t even know how much of the biogenic

reef assets (food for other species) were taken.

• Where is the damage assessment? and

Consequences??????

-

Best Practice

Water Planning and Governance

• Bathing Water

• WFD – RBMP advisory councils

• MSFD – open consultation now in progress,

look at 1 descriptor - Marine Litter.

Bathing Water

• Designation: In 2013 a total of 135 bathing waters were identified by 18 local authorities which is approximately 1 for every 25km of coastline in Ireland.

Merion Strand and Moville

Ballymoney S beach New Year Swim 2012/3

OPPORTUNITY – not? - MISSED?

Discoloration – interpretation of information Sewage? Pollution?

Algal bloom?

Public Consultation MSFD

• Article 19 of the Directive

– Participation and consultation

– Formal & ad-hoc (workshops, etc)

– Initial assessment currently available for consultation until:

17:30hrs Monday 1st July 2013

mail: msfd@environ.ie

http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/Water/WaterQuality/Marine/PublicConsultations

Adapted from Richard Cronin DoE presentation at Coastwatch litter workshop TCD May 2013

NI Marine Litter Strategy (NIMLS) Scope and Timescales

• Stakeholder engagement in 2011/12 and consultation on draft Strategy from September to December 2012. NIMLS will be published in June 2013.

• Linkage with UK MSFD target - an overall reduction in the number of visible litter items within specific categories/types on coastlines from 2010 levels by 2020.

• Linkage with MSFD timescales – NIMLS to commence in 2013 and conclude in 2020 when the MSFD requirement for GES is met.

• Reviews scheduled for 2015 to coincide with work on the development of the MSFD Programme of Measures and 2018.

• Scope of the NIMLS is coastal litter, as the sea bed is relatively inaccessible – to be reviewed in 2015.

Marine litter Coastwatch survey report > plastic bag count > action – Ireland first in Europe to have a plastic bag tax. TV crew from Brussels to spread.

Drinks containers other countries lead.

Opinion poll > action opportunity

Crowd Sourcing of Environmental Data

Citizen Volunteer with/without mission

- gives own time and skill/effort - finds & records information. - gains extra skills, - gains extra insight - contributes to a bigger/clearer

picture and better governance

- Gets specific problem solved INFORMED ENGAGED CITIZEN ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

Scientist -brings the system for the citizen to feed into. -provides training and materials Cleans/pools the information gathered by citizens uses that information contributes to a bigger clearer picture and informs follow up

Aim is to create a useful system in net balance

Citizen with trad. Knowledge Shares info wealth, Gives time and effort to others for a reason

Scientist is recording either respectfully for a greater good, and those who contributed Or engages in mercenary ‘mining’ for own good.

High Value potential but challenging & risky

WILD CARD: Volunteer teacher with mixed group and mixed results

Coastwatch old method with new twist

SURVEY UNIT CODE

Feed Back and Follow up

Types of feedback:

Early engagement: Provide draft questionnaire form with relevant data so authority can act. E.g. To address dumping

Feed back local survey results (+- names) and ask authority to respond

Action to address problems and threats: -

Local level: a ranked list from citizen leading, to Coastwatch leading

– Encourage surveyors to act – give link to law, other relevant information

– Guide how, training, – v suitable for groups

– Some direct Coastwatch involvement – e.g. set up meeting with officials

– Proxy for citizen – suitable where surveyor is vulnerable

National and international Level :

Plastic bag tax, Hi cone material change, law changes - e.g. on wetlands protection.

Feed Back and Follow up

Types of feedback:

Early engagement: Provide draft questionnaire form with relevant data so authority can act. E.g. To address dumping

Feed back local survey results (+- names) and ask authority to respond

Action to address problems and threats: -

Local level: a ranked list from citizen leading, to Coastwatch leading

– Encourage surveyors to act – give link to law, other relevant information

– Guide how, training, – v suitable for groups

– Some direct Coastwatch involvement – e.g. set up meeting with officials

– Proxy for citizen – suitable where surveyor is vulnerable

National and international Level :

Plastic bag tax, Hi cone material change, law changes - e.g. on wetlands protection.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Sea grass Zostera

Cordgrass Spartina

Glasswort Salicornia

Green seaweeds: carpet cover/thick mats

Green seaweed in patches/thin band

Dislodged decaying seaweeds of any kind

Brown or red seaweeds

% of survey units

Plant/Seaweed groups

1

Honeycomb worms: wau factor, pride ‘I found it’, - motivation to do more and protect the site

0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000

Can holders

Paper

Tyres

Glass

Plastic shopping bags

Metal

Plastic

Drinks Containers and Plastic Bags Counted in 386 survey units - Ireland 2012

LITTER COUNTS MAP

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Tar, oil, petrol

Medical Waste (syringes, plasters)

Paper, cardboard and worked wood,

Food, fish waste and bones

Container(s) of hazardous but not medical substance

Sanitary waste, condoms, nappies, etc

Faeces - mammal (e.g. dog, human)

Other

Cans (not drinks), including sprays

Packing strap(s)

Glass (not drinks), including light bulbs

Foamed Polystyrene and polyurethane

Other plastics (not any of above)

Textiles, shoes, gloves and clothing

Hard Plastic containers like crates, buckets

Fishing or aquaculture gear

SMALL LITTER Coastwatch 2013 Irl Percentage of survey units with litter.

Sewage indicators – high motivation

Fig 39 Oct 1987. The Irish Times and sanitary litter which has significantly reduced but still found in this survey. Photo Marlene Bean.

51%

34%

11%

2% 1%

1%

Never

Rare

Occassional

Frequent

Usual

Seasonal

Micro litter sample analyses

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1 2 3 4 ≥ 5

% o

f sa

mp

les

(wit

h li

tter

)

Number of pieces of litter per sample

Marine-related decision-making and public participation in Ireland today

Good practices & challenges

Trends

towards improvements

Recommendations

Recommendations more effective public participation in marine-related decision-making

FOUNDATION: sustainable development and wise resource use.

Ethos of transparency and fairness.

Law reform and designed for easy implementation and Enforcement

WATER LITERACY – OCEAN literacy as by new Atlantic agreement

Shared Public Understanding, value, long term, restoration

Training including of media, government bodies and semi state.

Resources to aid public information and participation

Use More Carrot- stick indicators Good examples Gold Poor practise – black list

Every step will have opportunities for early case by case, or strategic case improvements! Algal Bloom ..

Crawling in the right direction > RUN to catch up!!!!

Involving Citizens in Protecting our Coastal waters is obvious! Achieving it with best results for citizens and environment

that is the challenge and the joy!