Blue-green algal blooms this summer have put the UK and Ireland's biggest freshwater lake firmly in the spotlight with mounting calls for a better management model to deal with the complex problems it faces.
Green Party councillor Brian Smyth brought a motion before Belfast City Council on Monday night calling for its public acquisition alongside future consideration of a new legal right of nature for Lough Neagh. "I found it disappointing that the DUP abstained, as we simply can't stand by and watch our most precious ecological resource in Northern Ireland continue to wither away and die.
They believe the "current management of Lough Neagh is unsustainable, and has led to significant damage to this culturally, socially, environmentally and economically significant resource"."There are several options through which this can be delivered, including models based on community ownership, the public trust doctrine and rights of nature.