Representatives from Lough Neagh Partnership – a group of stakeholders dedicated to the management and preservation of the lake, have met with Members of Parliament at Westminster to discuss future plans and to extend support for its recovery.
The group worked closely with hosts, MP for Mid-Ulster, Cathal Mallaghan, and MP for North Dorset, Simon Hoare, to arrange the event, which highlighted the current ecological crisis besieging the lough and the cross-party coordinated approach required to address it.
Lough Neagh is the largest lake in Ireland and in the UK, constituting a surface area of 391km² (151 square miles), which according to Northern Ireland Water, is responsible for 40.7% of Northern Ireland’s supply of drinking water.
Last year, the extent of the lake’s deterioration was flagged when blooms of blue-green algae propagated large portions of the lake during the summer, hindering other water courses in its wake. The algae made a reappearance this year.
Lough Neagh Partnership, which was set up in 2003, comprising elected representatives, landowners, fishermen, farmers and local communities, has received funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to examine the viability of various preservation and protection initiatives.
One such project to receive financial backing, explores different forms of community ownership of the bed and soil of the lake, and was inspired by the teams exploration of similar community driven conservation and ownership models in Scotland.
Lough Neagh Partnership
Chair of Lough Neagh Partnership, Gary McErlain, said: “The ownership of Lough Neagh has been a much talked about topic of conversation for many decades among local people on its shorelines.
“We appreciate the work of the sponsors to provide us with a platform to present new ideas for the loughs ownership and wider management, which could yield a much improved outcome for everyone involved.
“A proposed ‘Forever Lough Neagh’ initiative, inspired by the Forever Mournes project, is being explored with other major partners – the time has never been better nor more urgent to explore a structured approach for the future of Lough Neagh,” he added.
The meeting, in his view, signified a crucial step towards achieving support for a sustainable ownership and management model for the lake from across the political spectrum.
He welcomed the ‘Lough Neagh Action Plan’, which was announced in July by Minister Andrew Muir, outlining 37 steps required to tackle the crisis, as well as the decision to enshrine ‘Protecting Lough Neagh and the Environment’ in the Stormont Executive’s draft Programme for Government.
At the strategic gathering, strategic manager of Lough Neagh Partnership, Gerry Darby provided a summary of the strategic needs and potential solutions for the management of the lake and catchment.
“It is important to obtain political buy in at a UK level and to work with government and major partners to establish new management structures and a real sustainable long-term landscape plan for Lough Neagh,” Darby said.
12th Earl of Shaftesbury, Nicholas Ashley-Cooper, who also spoke on the day, reinstated his commitment to collaborating with the partnership in order to affect positive change for the lough and to secure its long-term viability.
He detailed the “extremely shocking” ecological condition of the lake and the urgent action, funding required to tackle the extent of the extremity.
“The current ecological condition of the Lough is extremely shocking, and action is desperately needed. The Lough’s catchment covers approximately 43% of Northern Ireland and it provides about 40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water.
“It therefore impacts the lives of a huge number of people. Given its scale and the number of stakeholders involved, solutions are complex and multi-faceted. It is important that we gain cross-party, cross-border support if we are going to fix this.
“Real recovery will require significant investment from government and the private sector coming together. It will also require education, engagement with community, brave and innovative ideas and a completely new relationship with nature,” the earl said.
