It is shocking that Ireland has lost nearly 500 “near pristine” freshwater sites since the 1980s because of pollution, one expert has said.
Dr Mary Kelly Quinn, an authority on freshwater invertebrates, was speaking on the shores of Lough Key in Co Roscommon as part of an event designed to get the public thinking about climate change.
She said the quality of freshwater in many of our rivers and lakes was “going in the wrong direction” and one of the problems was that much of the damage was being done underwater and so people were unaware of the scale of the problem.
“One of the problems with fresh water diversity is that it is out of sight and therefore out of mind. And the loss of biodiversity has been described as an invisible tragedy because we don’t see it.”
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Speaking in Lough Key Forest Park the associate professor in UCD’s biology department, said: “We have a climate crisis. But we also have a biodiversity crisis. And the freshwater biodiversity crisis is not getting the attention it warrants.”
Dr Kelly Quinn told the gathering she was very concerned the number of near-pristine river sites monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency had dropped from 500 in the 1980s to less than 40 today.
“They have been polluted and destroyed”, she said. “That is loss of our natural heritage and loss of a biodiversity resource that can rehabilitate the rivers that are recovering from pollution.”
She said it was important for people to realise that rivers and lakes were “living systems that provide multiple benefits”, not just drinking water, but also recreation and a sense of place.
A lot of species had already been lost, she said. “We don’t entirely know how many freshwater species we have. I can guesstimate that we have about 2,500 but they have not been studied adequately and we are not tracking the decline in biodiversity at species level.”
Dr Kelly Quinn is one of 15 scientists countrywide taking part in the Eco Showboat project run by artists Anne Cleary and Denis Connolly who this summer are making a 400km boat trip on the Shannon and Erne rivers from Limerick to Enniskillen in a yacht run on solar power.
They have also enlisted the help of 20 artists in their bid to get the public exercised about climate change.
Sculptural installation
In Co Roscommon on Sunday, artists Anna Macleod and Padraig Cunningham unveiled a new video and sculptural installation inspired by the mayfly which Dr Kelly Quinn said was an important indicator of water quality as its presence indicated “things are at least good”.
Anna MacLeod who worked with fifth- and sixth-class pupils from the local Cootehall primary school on the mayfly-themed arts project said it was “time for a grown-up conversation about the threat to our lakes and rivers and what we can do about it”.
Dr Kelly Quinn said the sources of pollution, which were killing off species crucial to biodiversity, included the runoff from agriculture, especially in highly intensive areas.
“And we have 23 towns and villages where raw sewage is still discharged. That is unacceptable in a developed world. And we have other pressures that are impacting the physical habitats like forestry in the wrong place and excess sedimentation.”
She said one valuable species, the pearl mussel, had been affected to such a degree that only “OAP” pearl mussels which were born around 1900 were left in many rivers. Even though this species has a lifespan of 120 years, “no children and no teenage” pearl mussels were surviving in many sites because of pollution.
“The young are being killed off by habitat degradation,” she explained