Description
A network of 27 of Ireland’s leading local & national environmental groups, working together to protect Ireland’s rivers, lakes, bays, seas & groundwaters. SWAN aims are to:
1. facilitate the participation of all member environmental groups in the full implementation and ongoing delivery of the Water Framework Directive, especially at local and regional (River Basin District) levels.
2. provide informed critical analysis at all stages of implementation and ongoing delivery of the Water Framework Directive.
3. increase public awareness of the importance of good water quality for the common good, and to show how, through the Water Framework Directive, Ireland’s aquatic resources can be protected for future generations.
4. represent the SWAN position to government, statutory bodies and other agencies in all relevant matters and to advise and assist, where possible, the statutory authorities in the exercise of their responsibilities in relation to implementation of the Water Framework Directive.
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RECENT FACEBOOK POSTS
facebook.comThe EU Commission has pledged €550 million and made 36 commitments in the service of "reducing marine pollution, enlarging protected areas, reinforcing the security of the oceans, fostering blue economy initiatives, and supporting sustainable fisheries."
Is algae bio-fuel the revolutionary fossil fuel replacement we need? Or does it use too much water and cost too much?
SWAN is a member of Seas At Risk, an umbrella network of European environmental NGOs working to protect the marine environment. Their latest effort is the Marine Directive campaign, for which they made the video below. It somehow manages to be both amusing and heartbreaking. There's also a petition, which you can sign here: http://bit.ly/2yNjNbZ
SWAN members Irish Wildlife Trust and BirdWatch Ireland blast Origin Green after some of its certified companies were identified on a 'name and shame' list of worst polluters. Says the IWT, "It’s time that Origin Green was exposed for the sham that it is and [it] should be scrapped. [...] it is simply a smokescreen for ‘greenwashing’."
'Origin Green' certified companies have been classed among the country's worst polluters - massively discrediting the marketing label's sustainability claims. Agriculture is the number one pressure on our aquatic environment.
“We try to create porosity and permeability so that water can move in the ways that it moves in the hydrological cycle,” says Womack. “It’s very simple, but it’s very difficult for people to grasp, because we’ve not designed like that in a century.”
We just found out about this and it's tomorrow at 4! Dublin City Council are hosting the next step on the River Basin Management Plan consultation process; come for an info & feedback session on Areas of Action (find out more about those here: http://bit.ly/2wUdNfU). Well worth attending for those in Dublin area, but more events are planned around the country (see link).
Our wonderful Administrative and Network Support Officer, Miriam, is leaving us soon, meaning we're now looking for a new team member! If you'd like to work with SWAN, check out the job posting here and apply by Oct 23rd: http://bit.ly/2xHtISV
This is an issue that must be addressed in Ireland. According to the EPA, at the end of 2016, 63 drinking water supplies serving over 900,000 people had open investigations due to failures to meet pesticide standards. Measures to address this in the draft national river management plan (River Basin Management Plan) are weak.
Ireland too has experienced a huge and unprecedented influx of Portuguese Man O' War in recent years ...
As Marine Harvest argues for a new fish farm down in Bantry Bay, here are some reasons why farmed salmon can be detrimental to wild populations.
Quiz
