A conversation on biodiversity at Lough Neagh - a fact sheet

The background: Embodied Ecological Impacts
Embodied Ecological Impacts, examines the impact of the construction industry on nature and biodiversity beyond the footprint of a specific building or city. Instead, it looks to the point of material extraction and the impacts of global supply chains. These can be hard to identify in a fragmented, global industry that often lacks transparency.
Business decisions impact nature, but it is often difficult for decision makers to see the full picture. Embodied Ecological Impacts aims to raise awareness of the issues and offer solutions to minimise harm and showcase nature-positive decision making.

Why Lough Neagh?
The UKGBC wanted to give industry leaders a briefing on Embodied Ecological Impacts, but not by simply sharing data and recommendations. The aim was to connect people to a real place where landscapes and habitats are being impacted – in-part due to day-to-day material decision making.
This research led them to Lough Neagh, a location much closer to home than they first imagined. The problems at Lough Neagh are complex – there has been a historic lack of protection at this globally recognised sanctuary for wildlife, not just from material extraction but also from agriculture and sewage leaks. These complexities are not dissimilar to global locations of extraction where commercial interests are often protected before nature. Nature loss should be firmly on the agenda for the built environment, not just at Lough Neagh but globally.

What can Built Environment Professionals do about this?
Engage with your supply chain
Set an organisational nature
This research report by ICE and Expedition Engineering is a useful tool for learning more about Embodied Ecological Impacts. Businesses can also commit to the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TFCD) to integrate nature into decision making.
About Friends of The Earth and the campaign at Lough Neagh
Friends of the Earth is the UK’s biggest grassroots network dedicated to protecting people and planet.
Friends of the Earth in Northern Ireland has been campaigning to protect Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater lake in the UK and on the island of Ireland. Lough Neagh supplies 40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water and is a haven for wildlife. It’s a globally important Ramsar site, a European Special Protection Area, and a Northern Ireland Area of Special Scientific Interest. But it has not been protected from pollution. A 2013 study by researchers at Queen’s University Belfast found that the number of migratory winter birds had dropped by nearly 80% in a decade and there’s been a 66% fall in certain insect and snail species. In 2023 a highly toxic blue-green algae covered the Lough and hit news headlines.
Sand dredging at Lough Neagh was only regulated in 2021, prior to this date there were no limits on extraction and no published environmental reports. Unregulated underwater sand dredging at a protected site is a rarity in the UK, but Lough Neagh illustrates that it can happen. To give the Lough a breathing space, Friends of the Earth are asking for a moratorium on sand dredging at Lough Neagh. This would provide scientists with an opportunity carry out assessments without disturbance and for an ecological baseline to be established.
Friends of the Earth have a campaign to save Lough Neagh, which includes independent environmental protection and public ownership of the land. You can read more about their campaign here.
About Sand Stories
Kiran Pereira is the author of the book Sand Stories: Surprising Truths about the Global Sand Crisis and the Quest for Sustainable Solutions and the Founder of SandStories.org. Her work has been featured in the award-winning documentary Sand Wars and international media.
About Tommy Greene
Tommy Greene is an award winning journalist. His work predominantly focusses on the environment. He writes for The Guardian, Independent, Al Jazeera, Irish Times and more.
His investigations into lough Neagh can be read about here:
https://www.thedetail.tv/articles/lough-neagh-sand-dredging-must-be-better-monitored-un-experts-say
https://www.thedetail.tv/articles/article-title-a-primer-about-sand-dredging-activity-in-lough-neagh
About Ian Bruce
Ian Bruce is a London based artist and award-winning animator specialising in painting and drawing. He is also a performer and musical artist, he was former lead singer in the DJ/MC duo The Correspondents playing at gigs and festivals globally. He is part of the Hard Art collective, a group of artists, activists and scientists led by Brian Eno to address climate collapse.