Blue Carbon Action Plan published

In April 2025, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) published Northern Ireland’s first Blue Carbon Action Plan, outlining a strategic roadmap to protect and restore marine ecosystems that play a critical role in climate change mitigation.

The 2025-2030 plan, developed through a collaborative process with stakeholders and the Biodiversity and Climate Stakeholder Working Group, represents “a pivotal moment in our understanding of how marine ecosystems can help contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation”.

Recognising the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, the Plan positions blue carbon habitats such as saltmarshes, seagrass beds, and maerl as essential nature-based solutions. These ecosystems “capture and store greenhouse gases… accumulating over long timescales through natural processes”, the report states.

Outlining the long-term vision, the action plan document states that by 2050, Northern Ireland will have “protected, well-managed, and enhanced blue carbon habitats, providing us with increased nature-based carbon capture and storage alongside wider ecosystem service benefits”.

The document identifies seven key objectives across six thematic areas, including governance, evidence-gathering, funding, and public engagement. These objectives aim to establish monitoring frameworks, support habitat restoration projects, and align marine conservation with broader climate and environmental strategies.

Among the headline actions are the establishment of a Marine Nature Recovery Working Group by late 2025, a commitment to develop “prioritisation criteria” for restoration efforts, and the publication of a progress report by December 2030.

Importantly, the action plan is closely aligned with key legislative and policy commitments, including the Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and the OSPAR North-East Atlantic Environment Strategy 2030.

Currently, 56 per cent of blue carbon habitats identified in a 2021 feasibility study are located within existing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). New protections introduced in 2023, such as gear restrictions within MPAs, will further safeguard critical habitats like subtidal seagrass beds and maerl reefs.

Speaking upon publication, Minister Andrew Muir MLA said: “The Blue Carbon Action Plan leads the way in demonstrating how The Executive’s Programme for Government 2024-2027 commitment to tackling the twin challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss can be delivered.

“The Action Plan recognises how blue carbon habitats provide nature-based solutions to climate change and their wider environmental and societal benefits.”