Good Practice Public Participation for Water Management RIPPLE

Good Practice Public Participation for Water Management RIPPLE Project WWF & Heritage Lottery Fund QUESTOR Centre, QUB

Introduction River Basin Districts Lough Neagh Ballinderry River & Management Area RIPPLE What is it? Aims Outcomes Dissemination

River Basin Districts in Ireland 8 River Basin Districts (RBD)in the whole of Ireland N Ireland has 4 RBD: North-Eastern (light blue) North-Western (dark blue) Neagh-Bann RBD (yellow) Shannon (purple - v small portion in N Ireland) Neagh-Bann RBD is an International RBD

Lough Neagh • Largest lake in Ireland & Britain (300 km 2) • 6 major rivers flow into the Lough • 1 river flows out • Neagh-Bann catchment area

Lough Neagh • River Bann carries water from North end of Lough Neagh to the sea, on the North coast of Ireland • Rivers flowing into Lough Neagh drain ~38% of N Ireland • Excess nutrients (Phosphorus) & pollution incidents impact water quality of water around and in the Lough

Lough Neagh Environmental designations (RAMSAR, Area of Special Scientific Interest, 8 Nature Reserves) Present industrial pressures: Fishing, Agriculture, Peat Extraction, Sand extraction, Water extraction, Tourism and Recreation Lough Neagh Management Strategy - Integrated management & sustainable development of activities taking place on water, around the shores and within the wetland

West Lough Neagh Shores A relatively flat, low-lying, expansive landscape Shallow drumlins (long rounded hills or mounds common in Ireland) surrounded by flat, open pastures

Ballinderry is a small town on the Western shores of Lough Neagh, in Cookstown District Council Ballinderry River flows into Lough Neagh at Ballinderry regarded by anglers as one of the best rivers for trout in the North, and is also good for salmon canoeing is popular along the river

Ballinderry Management Area Covers an area of 487 km 2; population ~33, 000 Main land area is improved grassland (49%) Drains into Lough Neagh 7 Areas of Special Scientific Interest Designated as Salmonid under Freshwater Fish Directive – high water quality targets to protect & conserve the fish (salmon, trout) Freshwater Pearl population Designated as ‘sensitive’ under Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive: due to nutrients, esp phosphorus

Ballinderry situation 88% of rivers in the Ballinderry Management Area currently do not meet the European water quality standards set in the WFD less than good status High level of nutrient enrichment within the catchment – mainly from agriculture 21% of river water bodies in area affected by morphological changes Ballinderry River classified as ‘Heavily Modified’ - for flood risk management

NIEA River Basin Management Plan 12% of river bodies in the Ballinderry Management Area with good status in 2008 Propose to achieve good status in 44% of river bodies by 2015 96% at good status by 2021 How? Reduce numbers of benthic invertebrates Reduce pressures affecting water quality: impact from farming and other pollution sources

Public Consultation – draft RBMP Concern that the NIEA demonstrated no clear route to meet EU water quality targets by 2015 The Fresh Water Task Force called for concrete steps to achieve improvement and a greater level of public engagement Identified need for a more focused public participation in WFD River Basin Management Planning Set-up of the RIPPLE project, by WWF and Ballinderry Fish Hatchery

RIPPLE Rivers Involving People, Places and Leading by Example (RIPPLE) Demonstrates how community planning and effective public engagement can bring benefit to the river environment Funded for 3 years by WWF Freshwater programme and Heritage Lottery Fund

RIPPLE Advisory Committee Linking the community with the decision makers Cookstown District Council CWSAN CNCC DARD – Countryside Management Branch DARD - Rivers Agency DCAL - Inland Fisheries Do. E - Planning Service NIEA – Catchment Planning Group NIEA – Catchment Officer NIEA – Conservation, Designation and Protection NIEA – Water Management Unit LNLB Advisory Group NI Water Rural Community Network

Aims of RIPPLE Aims to ‘celebrate the beauty and history of the Ballinderry River’ To provide economic benefits to the local community To encourage involvement of the local community, to protect and conserve the river

Public Engagement Public engagement through partnership with other groups, such as the Rural Community Network Differences in approach: NI Environment Agency “You are invited to a meeting to discuss restoration of the Ballinderry River” Rural Community Network (RCN) “You are invited to come along to a local event where you can share your memories of the Ballinderry River”

Public Engagement (2) Huge response to the RCN invitation 1 event run 12 times – at 12 different locations 300 local people participated Sharing memories Discussing how the river and public use of it has changed Discussing how to bring use of the river back to how it used to be Action plans

Outcome of process Discovered how each stakeholder values the Ballinderry River Created a vision for the river Better access Better understanding of the river environment A cleaner river More wildlife Devised a strategy to achieve the vision

RIPPLE Action Plan A community-driven and sustainable Action Plan 115 actions identified timeline for delivery Each action has been adopted by a member of the community: a RIPPLE Champion, who is helped by other community volunteers to develop and implement the action

Examples of the Actions Vision 1: Better access to the river Produce a scoping report & map to outline new access opportunities Increase interest in angling along the river Vision 2: For more people & businesses to understand the water cycle, from tap to river, and how they have an impact Training days for the local community (public) to raise awareness of pollution Schools adopting river-based projects

Examples of the Actions (2) Vision 3: Less pollution & less litter in the Ballinderry river & its tributaries Increase the use of water-friendly household products Awards for improved environmental performance (industry) and awards ceremony Vision 4: See wildlife corridors where there are healthy habitats & better protection for plants & animals To successfully introduce juvenile mussels to the river To collate information on wildlife and habitats in and around river

Dissemination Project website Links to events scheduled on and around river Environmental news – specific to the Ballinderry Quarterly newsletters A point of contact where people can ‘register interest’ in the project and pledge to help out Booklet “Visions for the Ballinderry” Reflects the views of the community living in the Ballinderry river catchment

Finally…. Invitation extended to ENWAMA partners to attend an official event for RIPPLE – November/ December 2009 Thank you!