Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) must take “urgent action” to better protect the region’s most valuable natural sites, according to a new review by the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP).
The OEP praised Northern Ireland’s legal framework for identifying and managing protected areas but found that its implementation is lacking. The report warns that too few key sites have legal protection, leaving Northern Ireland behind the rest of the UK, Ireland, and Europe in terms of protected land coverage.
In response, the OEP has made 14 recommendations to Daera. These include setting clear targets backed by a strategic plan, engaging landowners more effectively, and prioritising the restoration of protected areas within the department’s upcoming Farming with Nature agri-environment scheme.
OEP Chief Executive Natalie Prosser emphasised the need for significant change.
“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.”
Meanwhile, Daera Minister Andrew Muir acknowledged the report and pledged to consult on both the Nutrients Action Programme and a Nature Recovery Strategy in the coming weeks.
“While I am pleased that the report has found that the legal framework is largely fit for purpose, it is clear that our stewardship of the natural environment has not been as robust as it ought to be, and the OEP’s constructive proposals to turn things around are welcome.
“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.”
Protected areas are vital for conserving rare and threatened species and habitats. Yet, the percentage of such sites in favourable condition has fallen from 61.7% in 2008 to just 51.5% in 2024. The OEP report found that while some progress has been made in the past, efforts have been inconsistent and insufficient.
“The government has multiple jobs to do, and unfortunately is good at doing one job at a time,” said the OEP’s chief scientist Prof Robbie McDonald.
“So when they’ve been designating sites, that’s worked very effectively, but they haven’t been able to manage and plan for management of sites very effectively.
“And vice versa, when they’ve been managing sites effectively, designation has stopped.
“So government needs to do multiple things at once – it needs to restart the process of designating sites and it needs to pay attention to the condition of the sites that have already been designated.”
Northern Ireland’s Environmental Improvement Plan aims to reverse this trend, setting targets to bring priority habitats and species into “favourable conservation status.” Key goals include publishing site-specific conservation plans by the end of 2024 and completing a review of the protected site network by March 2025. The plan also commits to restoring 95% of protected sites by 2030.
Daera confirmed that a new conservation plan for Lough Neagh has been approved and that the phased rollout of the Farming with Nature scheme is about to begin.
As a signatory to the global 30×30 biodiversity agreement, the UK has pledged to protect at least 30% of its land and sea by 2030.
Separately, the OEP is investigating Daera over a possible failure to meet its legal obligations regarding the classification and management of Special Protection Areas and the safeguarding of wild bird populations.
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