Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

217 Chapter 9: The Marine Environment Table 9.1  Key legislation governing the management and protection of the marine environment Legislation International/ EU/Ireland Purpose OSPAR Convention 1992 Int Guides international cooperation on the protection of the marine environment of the North East Atlantic Water Framework Directive (WFD) (2000/60/ EC) EU Water quality in estuaries (transitional waters) and coastal water up to ~1 nautical mile from shore are primarily managed under the WFD Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) (2008/56/EC) EU A European Union directive aimed at achieving or maintaining GES in European Seas. Represents the environmental pillar of the EU’s Integrated Maritime Policy Maritime Spatial Planning Directive (2014/89/EU) EU Promotes the sustainable growth of maritime economies, the sustainable development of marine areas and the sustainable use of marine resources. Requires that an ecosystem approach be taken to marine planning in Ireland as part of the holistic management of activities in Ireland’s waters. Transposed through the Maritime Area Planning Act (2021) Marine Planning Policy Statement (2019) IE Outlines a vision for the future development of our marine planning system National Marine Planning Framework (2021) IE Outlines Ireland’s vision, objectives and marine planning policies for each marine activity. Aligns with the principles of the OSPAR Convention Maritime Area Planning Act (2021) IE An act to regulate the maritime area. Sets out functions of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority Overall, management of the maritime areas is divided across multiple government departments and agencies, with no one organisation having overall responsibility. This can lead to a lack of clarity on roles and responsibilities in the marine area (Figure 9.2) (O’Hagan et al. , 2020; Farrell et al. , 2023). Key organisations involved include the following: DHLGH, Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA), NPWS, EPA, Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, Inland Fisheries Ireland, Irish Maritime Development Office, Office of Public Works, Department of Transport, Department of Foreign Affairs. Increasingly, more responsibilities are now being delegated to other coastal local authorities. In this chapter we present information on the status of Ireland’s marine systems and discuss the primary human activities that exert pressure that may damage the environmental status of these waters. The main responses to these challenges are also discussed.