Contact: Karin Dubsky // Tel.: +353 (0)86 8111 684 // KDubsky@coastwatch.org

We have entered a key year for biodiversity. In 2023 reports by the Citizen Assembly on biodiversity loss and then the Joint Committee on the Env and Cl Action were published. The EU Nature Restoration Law (NRL) should pass in February/March and the Irish Marine Protected Area (MPA) law follow soon afterwards.  The Nature Restoration Law and ongoing measures to designate, manage and restore Natura 2000 sites, offer new opportunities for public participation and citizen science. 

This Coastwatch seminar will provide an opportunity to review these initiatives against  the needs in the coastal zone, where Nature is struggling. Two sessions will focus on seagrass, as one  critically important inshore habitat. The keynote address by Dr. Marcial Bardolet, Head of the Posidonia Seagrass Surveillance Service, (IBANAT) Balearic Islands, Spain; should inspire and help us explore what we can do with…