The Northern Ireland Freshwater Taskforce (FWTF) represents a range of organisations working together to ensure that Northern Ireland preserves and improves freshwater ecosystems. This entails encouraging Government and wider society to adopt a sustainable and integrated approach to water management. A key objective of the Taskforce is to ensure the full and effective implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Northern Ireland.
The Taskforce has produced a ten point action plan entitled From Source to Sea outlining how Northern Ireland can achieve sustainable water use and restore our freshwater environment. Launched by the Northern Ireland Environment Committee in 2012, this document represents a clear programme of action the Northern Ireland Executive must take in order to meet agreed European standards for water management by 2015.
The Fresh Water Taskforce Priorities 2013–2015 can be found here.
The intention is to push sustainable water use further up the policy agenda and is a call to government for funding and action to meet our European obligations.
This is necessary to ensure protection of water bodies; healthy rivers and wetlands; improved water efficiency; polluters to pay, water–friendly farming, sustainable urban drainage, and wetland restoration.
The FWTF urge the Northern Ireland Executive to use this ten point plan to drive forward sustainable water management and avoid environmental damage, infraction fines from Europe, increasing costs of water treatment and negative impacts on tourism revenue.
In fulfilling its objectives the FWTF is represented on a wide range of groups and forums, including the WFD Stakeholder Forum, the Sustainable Flood Risk Management Group, Salmon and Inland Fisheries Forum and the various River Catchment Stakeholder Groups.
Members of the Northern Ireland Freshwater Taskforce are:
Friends of the Earth NI;
National Trust;
Northern Ireland Environment Link;
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds;
The Rivers Trust;
Ulster Angling Federation;
Ulster Wildlife;
Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust; and
WWF NI
If you would like further information on the work of the Freshwater Taskforce contact:
Contact:
Dr Jonathan Bell
Northern Ireland Environment Link
89 Loopland Drive
Belfast
BT6 9DW
Tel: 028 9045 5770
Email: jonathan@nienvironmentlink.org
