As a community representative on Galway City Council-led environmental partnership committees, I spent the last few hours reviewing the Draft Biodiversity Action Plan 2012-2013.
What a wonderful progressive document that if implmented would do much to protect widlife in Galway City.
The key parts of the Plan is to appoint a full-time Biodiversity Officer supported
by a Biodiversity Forum comprising
all relevant stakeholders to oversee the implementation
of the Biodiversity Action Plan, that will include an up-to-date biodiversity audit that is monitored and reviewed on a regular basis.
In the interim whilst waiting for the
appointment of a Biodiversity Officer, the draft report recommends the designation of the duties of such an office
by the City Manager to an existing member of staff.
I have just sent my recommendation on how the Plan can be improved to Eleanor Hough, one of the Community reps on the Recreational and Amenity Special Policy Committee(SPC) that is meeting tomorrow to discuss the document tomorrow.
Recommendations
1. The interim Biodiversity Officer
must be assigned within the first year of the Plan or even this year (2012).
This office should have the authority to set up a working group with City Hall
that includes a membership drawn from all the relevant departments/offices:
Parks, Environment, Transport, Planning, Heritage, Community Development and the
Arts.
2. The meetings of the Biodiversity Forum must be held at least twice a year.
3. The Action Plan must have a realistic
and itemised timescale of what
specific actions are to be achieved each year.
4. The recommendations of the Galway City Habitat Inventory as voted
by Galway City Council in May 2006 should be included in the Biodiversity Action Plan 2012-2013.
5. The existing Local Biodiversity Areas as listed in the Galway City Habitat
Inventory and in the Galway City Development Plan should be included in the Biodiversity Action
Plan 2012-2013.
6. The creation of Ecological Corridors to overcome habitat fragmentation should be
stated as a key priority of the
Biodiversity Action Plan 2012-2013.
7. The identification and development of specific Ecological Corridors should
also be included as a key element of
the Biodiversity Action Plan 2012-2013
8. The development
of specific Greenways (e.g. Woodquay/Dyke Road to Menlo Park via the
Terryland Forest Park/Castlegar village/Ballindooley) should be listed as a key outcome of the Biodiversity Action
Plan 2012-2013.
9. The protection and rebuilding of a network of hedgerows and traditional dry
stone walls should be a key
objective of Biodiversity Action Plan 2012-2013.
Other
Recommendations to be included in the Biodiversity Action Plan 2012-2013.
10. The implementation of an annual native tree and bulb planting
programme involving the local community
and schools sectors.
11. Establish Biodiversity Protection/Enhancement Awards within the annual Mayoral Awards.
12. Establish an annual Galway City Biodiversity Festival
involving schools, third-level colleges, neighbourhoods, NGOs and other
relevant sectors of society. This event could include neighbourhood harvest
fests, nature walks, heritage tours etc. This festival could be part of an
existing environmental or heritage festival.
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