This illustrated talk will highlight the critical role local water bodies play in supporting all forms of life, including human life and wellbeing. Local water bodies (streams, rivers, lakes, estuaries, and coastal waters) support a disproportionate amount of biodiversity and habitats, given their relative size and abundance. The better the physical condition of the river, the better the supporting instream and riparian (or riverbank) habitat, the better will be the water quality of that river to support all forms of life. This talk will unpack the life that exists in local waterbodies, water quality and the role of citizen science monitoring. It will illustrate; by presenting local case studies, how local waterbodies function as ecosystems. It will outline how local waterbodies provide a range of ecological services and critically water for human consumption. The talk will also review the practical steps and measures we all can take to help, protect, restore, and enhance local waterbodies.
About the Speaker:
Ruairí Ó Conchúir, has for more than 25 years worked in the field of integrated river catchment management, farming for conservation and community-based land reform and rural development. Having spent a decade in Southern Africa, working mostly in land reform, he returned to County Clare in 2001. Since then, he has worked largely in conservation management related projects, including over 10 years in two multi award winning EU LIFE projects, BurrenLIFE – Farming for Conservation in the Burren and in managing the MulkearLIFE project – focused on integrated catchment management on the Lower Shannon SAC (Mulkear Catchment).
Admission to all KCT Talks is FREE of Charge.
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