Public Invited to Lough Neagh Consultation Webinar

As part of the consultation process for the Lough Neagh Resilience Plan, the public is being invited to attend a consultation webinar on Tuesday 30 July at 7.00pm where they will have opportunity to hear from four experts who will speak on landscape acquisition and management; considering the development of a new Lough Neagh heritage resilience plan and the various environmental and conservation challenges surrounding Lough Neagh together with examples of innovative techniques and practices that could help address these current issues.

Speakers are Dr Liam Campbell, who was instrumental in delivering the Lough Neagh Landscape Partnership project; Dr Peter Doran, Senior Lecturer from the School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast; Dr Alastair McIntosh, who is a pioneer of modern land reform in Scotland; and Dr Michael Meharg, a specialist in on-farm carbon auditing and providing conservation/wildlife advice.

The webinar will provide a platform for exploring responses to recent questionnaires which were completed by the public in relation to the project.

Funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project is aimed at preserving and protecting the unique landscape of Lough Neagh, ensuring its vitality for generations to come.

The webinar follows almost 30 stakeholder meetings which have taken place since the consultation process began in January of this year, and the feedback and insights received by Lough Neagh Partnership from stakeholder meetings, the completion of the recent questionnaire and this webinar, will be vital to developing a robust 10 year plan for the area’s future.

Michael Browne, Lough Neagh Partnership Heritage Plan Coordinator, said: “Lough Neagh is a mirror reflecting both beauty and challenges and together we can protect it, so we are inviting anyone with an interest in Lough Neagh to attend this webinar and contribute to the sustainable stewardship of Lough Neagh.

“We are actively seeking engagement from the public in attending as it is anticipated that the information gathered from the webinar, responses received to the questionnaire and the insights gleaned at stakeholder meetings, will shape the heritage needs of Lough Neagh.”

The insights from the consultation process will form the basis for the creation of the 10 year resilience plan for the Lough and will also identify potential avenues for funding and establish new sustainable management structures to ensure the enduring vitality of Lough Neagh.

After the formulation of the draft 10 Year Heritage Resilience Plan, a forthcoming conference is scheduled to facilitate constructive discourse and gather valuable insights from stakeholders, governmental bodies, as well as representatives from the local and wider communities. It is anticipated that the conference will be scheduled for the spring of 2025. The project's anticipated completion date is November 2025.

To register your attendance at the upcoming webinar on Tuesday 30 July, please visit: https://loughneaghpartnership.org/consultation-webinar

To keep up to date with the Lough Neagh Resilience Plan project, follow Lough Neagh Partnership on its social media channels – facebook, linkedin and X.

About the Speakers

Dr Liam Campbell

Dr Liam Campbell resides in the Sperrins and is originally from Donegal. He currently serves as the Director of the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies at the Ulster American Folk Park, near Omagh. Previously, he held the position of Built and Cultural Heritage Officer with the Lough Neagh Landscape Partnership. Dr Campbell has extensively published and lectured on heritage and environmental issues, with a particular focus on the Northwest of Ireland, including Lough Neagh.

Leveraging his experience with the previous Lough Neagh Landscape Partnership, Liam will highlight some of the challenges encountered in the earlier programme. He will also identify several key areas to be considered in the development of a new Lough Neagh Heritage Resilience Plan.

Dr Peter DoranDr Peter Doran is an activist-academic based at the School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast. He is also a founding member of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (www.weall.org) for the island of Ireland and includes, among his interests, the Rights of Nature and the law of the commons. He is a long-time advocate of community ownership of Lough Neagh, incorporating a guardianship model based on the rights of the lough. 

Dr Alastair McIntosh – Landscape acquisition and management        

Dr Alastair McIntosh (Scotland) has been described by BBC TV as “one of the world’s leading environmental campaigners”. A pioneer of modern land reform in Scotland, he helped bring the Isle of Eigg into community ownership. On the Isle of Harris, he negotiated withdrawal of the world’s biggest cement company (Lafarge) from a devastating “superquarry” plan. He then served, unpaid to avoid conflicts of interest, on the company’s Sustainability Stakeholders Panel for 10 years to help further corporate social and environmental responsibility.  

Alistair will present examples of Community land acquisitions in Scotland, elucidating the significant challenges encountered and suggesting possible insights for Lough Neagh.

Dr Michael Meharg

Dr Michael Meharg has a background in Environmental and Conservation matters. Michael worked in government Biodiversity Protection for 30 years. Recently he has moved into the private sector building his long-term involvement in conservation grazing with traditional breed cattle, having established a small environmental consultancy specialising in on-farm carbon auditing and providing conservation/wildlife advice. Michael is a member of the UFU, Ulster Wildlife and is a director of the Nature Friendly Farming Network.

Michael will discuss various environmental and conservation challenges surrounding Lough Neagh. He will also provide examples of innovative techniques and practices that could help address these current issues.