The Office of Environmental Protection (OEP) has said that urgent action must be taken to better protect and restore Northern Ireland’s key areas for nature.
These include areas such as the Antrim hills, the Mourne mountains, Upper Lough Erne, Lough Neagh, and Rathlin Island.
The OEP said these areas support rare or threatened plants, animals, and habitats.
Because of their importance to nature, they are legally designated as protected sites, with the aim they will be properly protected and managed.
However, the public body said not enough sites are being designated as protected, and the condition of those that are protected is getting worse rather than better.
The habitats and species features of the sites that were in favourable condition dropped from 61.7% in 2008, to 51.5% in 2024.
OEP chief executive Natalie Prosser said: “The need to act is urgent. Instead of seeing the improvement of these precious sites, we see deterioration.
“And the designation of areas as protected sites has effectively stalled with no new sites being designated since 2018, leaving important places for nature unprotected.
“Our report identifies that the failings are largely not in the legal framework for protecting these natural treasures; instead it is the implementation of these important laws that is falling short.”
The report makes 14 recommendations to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).
These include to:
- Set legally binding targets for increasing the designation of protected sites and restoring their condition – supported with a plan to ensure the targets are met and reviewed regularly;
- Ensure that tailored and ongoing advice and support is available to all owners and occupiers of protected sites;
- Ensure that restoring protected sites is a key consideration in the new Farming with Nature agri-environment scheme, currently being developed by DAERA.
Northern Ireland has committed to contribute to the UK’s fulfilment of the global target that at least 30% of land and sea is effectively conserved and managed by 2030.
The OEP chief executive added: “We have the 30 by 30 target fast approaching. Action needs to be taken now to turn things around.
“Although much more needs to be done, we don’t believe the challenges are insurmountable. It can work in future, as we have seen that it has worked in the past when there were periods of good progress.
“There are dedicated people committed to this work, but they must now have the support from across government to match the scale of the task in order to do the job, the way legislation intended.”
Minister for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir said he has committed to ensuring that full and prompt consideration is given to the findings.
Muir said: “Lough Neagh – our largest protected site – has been the wake-up call for what is needed across many, if not all, of our protected sites.
“I will now work at pace with officials to review the evidence and consider the recommendations.
“In addition to this, I also intend to consult on the Nutrients Action Programme and the Nature Recovery Strategy in the coming weeks.
“These policies, once finalised, will further strengthen our policy framework and help drive action on the ground to turn this situation around,” Muir added.
