Campaigners calling for action to tackle the pollution of Lough Neagh will hold a demonstration ahead of the feared return of toxic algae blooms this summer.
The Save the Lough Neagh campaign is urging people to gather at the Oxford Island Discovery Centre on Sunday .
Environmental activists and local campaigners will be joined by musician Andy McGibbon and his band for the ‘Loughshore Stands Up’ rally, starting at 2pm.
Nitrates and phosphates from farm run off along with raw sewage were blamed last summer for feeding the blue-green algae, with the right weather conditions and the increase in the invasive zebra mussel, whose feeding habits help clear the water, bringing the blooms to the surface across the lough.
Agriculture and Environment Minister Andrew Muir has said he has asked officials to reallocate resources to tackle environmental problems in Lough Neagh.
However, Mr Muir said it was “disappointing” to receive just £1.6 million in capital funding and no resource funding.
Campaign spokesperson Pádraig Cairns said: “We are calling on the Stormont Executive to urgently fulfil its promise to tackle pollution at Lough Neagh.
“Every day that the DAERA minister delays compounds the environmental catastrophe that is unfolding. There is no time for excuses.
“Budget cuts might satisfy the Exchequer, but they could prove cataclysmic when it comes to the loss of biodiversity and the continued poisoning of our drinking water at Lough Neagh.”
Mr Cairns said there were steps that could be taking immediately, including bringing the lough into public ownership, end sand dredging and the “financial incentives for industrial farming, like the disastrous Going for Growth scheme”.
Campaigners also want an independent environmental protection agency established. The Northern Ireland Environmental Agency is an arm of the department.
