ABOUT US
The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN) is an umbrella network of twenty-four of Ireland’s leading environmental groups working together to protect Ireland’s waters by participating in the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), Marine Strategy Framework and other water-related policy in Ireland. A key focus of SWAN’s work involves collaborating at local, national and River Basin District level to ensure that the Water Framework Directive is implemented in the spirit as well as the letter of the law.
SWAN is made up of national and local groups with a wide range of local knowledge and specialist expertise in all areas of Ireland’s aquatic environment. The cooperative work of this network is contributing significantly to achieving real protection for our rivers, lakes, estuaries, coastal and ground waters. From the shores of Lough Swilly to the beaches of Wexford, from the Boyne estuary and the rivers of West Cork to the lakes of Galway and Mayo, SWAN member groups are working independently and collectively to protect Ireland’s waterways and coasts. It is our aim to ensure that the River Basin Management Plans are implemented correctly and that shortcomings in the Plans are addressed during the implementation process.
OUR MISSION
SWAN’s mission is to protect and enhance the quality of Ireland’s waters and to promote the ecologically sustainable management of all our aquatic resources through the promotion of the active involvement of environmental organisations in the implementation and delivery of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Ireland.
OUR AIMS
1. To facilitate the participation of all member environmental groups in the full implementation and ongoing delivery of the Water Framework Directive, especially at local and regional (River Basin District) levels.
2. To provide informed critical analysis at all stages of implementation and ongoing delivery of the Water Framework Directive
3. To increase public awareness of the importance of good water quality for the common good, and to show how, through the Water Framework Directive, Ireland’s aquatic resources can be protected for future generations.
4. represent the SWAN position to government, statutory bodies and other agencies in all relevant matters and to advise and assist, where possible, the statutory authorities in the exercise of their responsibilities in relation to implementation of the Water Framework Directive.
