Coastal nature protection, management and restoration is the theme of a Coastwatch seminar later this month.
The seminar on January 24th in Trinity College, Dublin will focus on seagrass habitat and the Nature Restoration Law.
It will also discuss progress of the Government’s marine protected area (MPA) legislation.
“We have entered a key year for biodiversity,”Coastwatch co-ordinator Karin Dubsky says.
“ In 2023, reports by the Citizen Assembly on biodiversity loss and then the Joint Committee on the Environment and Climate Action were published,” she recalled.
“The EU Nature Restoration Law should pass in February/March and the Irish MPA law follow soon afterwards,” she said.
“The Nature Restoration Law and ongoing measures to designate, manage and restore Natura 2000 sites, offer new opportunities for public participation and citizen science,” she said.
“This Coastwatch seminar will provide an opportunity to review these initiatives against the needs in the coastal zone, where nature is struggling,” she said.
Two sessions will focus on seagrass, as one critically important inshore habitat, and the keynote address will be given by Dr Marcial Bardolet, head of the Posidonia Seagrass Surveillance Service, (IBANAT) Balearic Islands, Spain.
Registration is essential here
