[ Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028, Section 15(2) Two-Year Progress Report ]
SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
Targets under this goal relevant to the City Development Plan: Target 14.1 By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution.
Cork City interacts directly with the ocean as its waterways feed directly into and even constitute the marine environment, the River Lee is tidal within the city’s administrative area. In November 2022 Cork City Council became the first “Atlantic-Arctic city” to sign the EU Mission Ocean Charter "Restore our Ocean and Waters" which aims to protect and restore the health of our ocean and waters through research and innovation, citizen engagement and blue investments. Cork City Council has a specific Mission Ocean action, “People Embracing the River Lee to the Atlantic Ocean”, which is a 10-point plan with UCC and the MaREI to significantly engage with residents of the city to raise awareness of the water and oceans, support achievement of the city’s climate action ambitions, support biodiversity and play a leadership role as the first Atlantic City to participate meaningfully in the Restore the Oceans and Waterways Mission. A key contribution the City Development Plan makes toward achieving this SDG, and the first item of the Cork City’s Mission Ocean Charter 10-point plan, is via the green and blue infrastructure strategy (Objective 6.1) which seeks to protect and enhance the green and blue infrastructure assets of the city, including the city’s waterways. The City Development Plan supports other actions set out in the 10-point plan, including facilitating the transition of the Port from the city centre by planning the development of the cork Docklands, one of Ireland's most ambitious regeneration programmes of 147 hectares adjacent to the city centre, enabling sustainable compact growth in the city, and by implementing the Cork City Heritage and Biodiversity Plan 2021-2026 which includes particular actions to support biodiversity of the city's waterways. The Cork City Hertiage and Biodiversity Plan 2021-2026 was adopted in 2021 before the current City Development Plan was adopted, however Objective 6.22 supports the implementation of the Hertiage and Biodiversity Plan and provides a solid policy framework for the preparation of the next heritage and biodiversity plans which will be prepared during the lifetime of the current City Development Plan. The Hertiage and Biodiversity Plan contains 73 actions that include projects, reach out and education on biodiversity. Cork City Council appointed two Biodiversity Officers in 2023 to implement the biodiversity actions set out in the Heritage and Biodiversity Plan, embed biodiversity as a strategic consideration in the functions of Cork City Council and promote the protection and enhancement of biodiversity in the city. During the lifetime of the Heritage and Biodiversity Plan a biodiversity forum will be established to continue this work and broaden the reach with community, environmental, academic, state, semi-state and other stakeholders.
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