Cork Harbour Integrated Management Strategy

Yesterday saw the launch in Cobh of the much-vaunted Cork Harbour Integrated Management Strategy. The title is a bit of a mouthful and all it's short is the word "protection" after management and it would gain the acronym CHIMPS, but as it is CHIMS promises much. The question Cork Harbour residents and users are asking is, will it work?

The strategy is aimed at bringing together all the stakeholders in Cork Harbour together in a forum and planning the management and future of the harbour. According to the blurb on their press release, "Cork Harbour is a unique resource and presents very real management challenges associated with, for example, flooding, water quality, industrial expansion, environmental protection, marina development and recreational usage. This Strategy is based on a voluntary partnership between key management agencies and local stakeholders including Port of Cork, Irish Naval Service, Local Authorities, Government Departments, Chamber of Commerce, Failte Ireland, community development agencies and the IDA".

Now surely the most important stakeholders in Cork Harbour are the residents of the area and it is to be hoped that their views will be taken fully onboard and that regular public forums are available to them when the future of the harbour is being discussed. Obviously the Old Blog Cabin would like to see this strategy given a chance to prove that it is more than a glossy document and that it becomes meaningful to the residents of the Cork Harbour area. We shall see.

There is a website at www.corkharbour.ie where you can download the Cork Harbour Integrated Management Strategy for yourself.