This presentation was given as part of the EPA-funded Catchment Science and Management Course focusing on Integrated Catchment Management, held in June 2015. This course was delivered by RPS Consultants. If you have any queries or comments, or wish to use the material in this presentation, please contact catchments@epa.ie It is increasingly being recognised internationally that integrated catchment management (ICM) is a useful organising framework for tackling the ongoing challenge of balancing sustainable use and development of our natural resource, against achieving environmental goals. The basic principles of ICM (Williams, 2012) are to: • Take a holistic and integrated approach to the management of land, biodiversity, water and community resources at the water catchment scale; • Involve communities in planning and managing their landscapes; and • Find a balance between resource use and resource conservation ICM is now well established in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. In Europe the ICM approach has been proposed as being required to achieve effective water and catchment management, and is the approach being promoted by DEFRA for the UK, where it is called the “Catchment Based Approach” (CaBA). The principles and methodologies behind ICM sit well within the context of the Water Framework Directive with its aims and objectives for good water quality, sustainable development and public participation in water resource management. In Ireland it is proposed that the ICM approach will underlie the work and philosophy in developing and implementing future River Basin Management Plans.

1. Catchment
Management

2. Build Partnership
Create an ICM
Vision
Characterise the
Catchment
Undertake further
characterisation
Identify &
Evaluate Possible
Management
Strategies
Design an
Implementation
Programme
Implement the
River Basin
Management Plan
Measure Progress
and Make
Adjustments
Rivers Trust Case Study
BALLINDERRY RIVERS TRUST
Mark Horton
Trust Manager

3. Aim
Ballinderry Rivers Trust aims to conserve, protect and
improve the rivers and loughs of the Ballinderry River
system, Lough Neagh, the Lough’s western-shore streams,
and their wildlife, for the benefit of the public and the
wider environment.

4. Ballinderry Rivers Trust
Improving Water Quality
Protecting and Improving
Habitat
Conserving Freshwater
Species
Education and Outreach
Research and Development
Evidence-based projects
Catchment-based approach
Partnership working

5. Strategy for delivery
• Through its core activities:
– the Trust acts as the umbrella organisation for river interest groups operating in the Trust’s
area of charitable interest. Its policy is to support the development of, and build capacity in
these organisations helping to deliver the Trust’s objects and provide wider public benefit to
its work.
– the Trust provides mentoring in the further development of young people and life-long
learners in the field of river conservation and management, benefitting the environment and
the wider public
– the Trust provides volunteering opportunities, helping the Trust to deliver its objects and
providing wider public benefit to its work.
• Through its project activities:
– the Trust pursues mainly public grant funded opportunities to promote and develop practical
solutions to environmental issues for public benefit and to educate the community on the
importance of the freshwater environment.

6. What are Rivers Trusts?
Charities established to
look after a whole river
catchment or area with
a number of
waterbodies
44
7
2
25
A grassroots
“bottom up”
movement
Identifying new funding sources
and redirecting existing funds to
be more effective
Empowering People
Partnership Working
‘wet feet’
organisations
not lobbying
organisations

7. Sources
Pathways
Recognised as
river basin
based deliverers
Catchment-based approach
Evidence-based action
Partnership working
Contributing to
local and EU
Objectives

9. Erne Rivers Trust

10. Rivers Trust work in Republic of Ireland
• Developed a new Governing Document and guidance for
Rivers Trusts establishing in RoI – Funded by the Dept of
Environment, Community and Local Government
• Helping to establish the Inishowen Rivers Trust.

11. RIPPLE
anexample of a community-led
river basinmanagement plan

12. What is RIPPLE?
 Rivers Involving People, Places and Leading by Example
 Community led River Basin Management Plan
 Getting people involved with rivers through their own
interests
 Realising the capacity of our community to help
manage the river
 Sharing ideas
 Seeing rivers from others’ points of view
 Empowering people to make a difference

13. Funders and Partners
 2006 - 2011
 The RIPPLE Advisory Network - support for the project and local community
 Government Departments
 Local Council
 Non-Government Orgs.
 2011-2012
 2012 onward –

14. The aims of RIPPLE
 To encourage local people to reconnect with
their river and act as a community to
preserve and celebrate the heritage of the
Ballinderry
 To act as a demonstration to decision makers
and Government showing that, if given the
opportunity, local people can make the right
decisions about local river management
issues and contribute to national and
international conservation objectives

15. “The success of this
water framework
directive relies on
close cooperation and
coherent action at
Community, Member
State and local level as
well as consultation
and involvement of
the public, including
users”
Article 14
Public Information and Consultation

16. Getting people
involved in the project
I hear and I forget,
I see and I remember,
I do and I understand.
Confucius (551-479BC)

17. How we contacted the community
 Used existing networks
 BRT & Fisheries
Owners
 Rural Community
Network
 UFU/NIAPA
 Industry and Business
Networks
 Local Council
 Education etc etc
 Newspaper advert
 Radio interviews
 Posters in public places
 Word of mouth

18. Bringing the river to life
for everyone
We recognised that it would not be possible to
convince the entire community that they should be
interested in the river, but, if a particular focus was
placed on peoples hobbies and interests, and it was
then demonstrated to them how these could help
improve the river, more interest groups and
individuals would be likely to get involved.

19. A chance to chat by the roaring fire
Lissan House on the banks of the Lissan Water – Mince pies by the
Christmas tree to the sound of a crackling fire

20. From the Sperrins to Lough Neagh
A whistle stop tour of the Ballinderry River –
the local river

21. From Bankside to Fireside – with Joe
Mahon
From the lovers of Tullywiggan Bridge to the curse of the Banshee Rock

22. The Ballinderry River
Plaiting and purling, silkily sliding,
the water wanders along.
Tinkling and wrinkling, rumbling and tumbling, this is
the river’s song. Maura Johnston, 2006

23. ‘My
Ballinderry’
Joey O’Neill – local
musician
“As I gaze down from
Sleive Gallion
To the famous Lough Neagh Shore
And when i’m feeling lonely many miles away from home
I think back to happy days spent by a river in Tyrone”

24. Creating the plan

25. Creating Visions for the River
Kinturk & Lough Neagh
Cultural Centre
Spring Hill House (NT)
Stewartstown Community
Centre
Burnavon Arts Centre
Wellbrook Beetling Mill
(NT)
Rockwell Water
An Creágan – Creggan
Bog Centre

26. Where do you live? What are your interests?
• Spatial awareness
• Have people come along to represent a
particular interest?

27. What are your memories of the river?
 Remembering the way things used to be...Good and Bad
 Grounds people thinking for the rest of the exercise
Its what the experts call…Appreciative Inquiry
“a systematic process which is based on understanding the best of the
present and the past in order to develop and improve the future by
doing more of what works well”

28. What is your Vision for the river
• Allowing thoughts to poor out on paper and creating a wish list
for the future of the river
Its what the experts call…Visioning
We asked about peoples aspirations for the future
rather than what they thought the issues were on
the river
It creates positive thinking which leads to
statements of possibility

29. WE ASKED EACH GROUP
TO CONSIDER…
What needs to be done
to achieve the vision?
Who needs to be
involved?
What is your role?
Turning the Visions into a
plan

30. 300 heads are better than 1...
Our base
line
The aims
The actions
The partners
The drivers
What are your
memories of the
river?
What are your visions
for the future?
What needs to be done
to make the visions
happen?
Who needs to be
involved?
What is your role in
making it happen?

31. Visions
• We wantbetteraccessalongtheriver
• We wanta better understandingof
the river environment
• We wanta cleanriver
• We wantmore wildlifein and along
theriver

32. Our plan of action
• Created an action plan to achieve the
visions
• 115 actions prioritised by the
community
• Actions adopted by RIPPLE Champions

33. Speed Dating to progress the
actions
• RIPPLE Champions and members of the
Advisory Group
• Made promises to each other to
progress the actions
• Throughout the evening the promises
where pegged onto lines between the
Champions and the Advisors
• The unexpected outcome
– Promises were made between
Champions and between advisors

34. COMBINING THE
COMMUNITY-LED PLAN
WITH THE
GOVERNMENT-LED
WFD PLAN

35. Where top-down and
bottom-up meet• Lots of areas of overlap
• Other two visions are not considered an integral part of
WFD but have proven to be a means to an end –
engaging more people through their hobbies and
interests
Cleaner
River
More
wildlife
‘Good
Ecological
Status’
Better
access
Better
understandin
g
Better
protection
&
improved
ecological
status

36. Continued...
• Ballinderry LMA now includes National and NI POM as well as RIPPLE
Community actions
• Community helping government deliver WFD objectives
• Government helping community realise their visions for the river
Ballinderry
River Local
Management
Plan that
belongs to
everyone
Government
consultation on
RBMP
RIPPLE
consultation
with Ballinderry
community
Partnership

37. Summary
• RIPPLE has engaging people in the development of an action
plan
• That action plan is helping to achieve both local and national
objectives – not least contributing to ‘good ecological status’
• RIPPLE demonstrates that local people can get involved, be
inspired and make decisions about their local water resources
• Never underestimate the knowledge and will of the
community
• No-one knows the river better than the people who live and
work next to it – see the potential, realise the value and act
together to achieve the objectives