Seabirds and sewage among UNESCO status challenges

A jagged rocky cliff edge looking down at the sea

Image source, Manx ScenesImage caption,

Twelve of the island's 16 breeding seabird species are on a list of greatest conservation concern

ByJosh CannIsle of Man, Reporting fromIsle of Man

Published10 minutes ago

Sewage being discharged into the sea and under-threat seabirds are among the challenges facing the Isle of Man after a decade as a UNESCO Biosphere, a report has said.

The State of the Biosphere report looks back on the 10 years since the island became the world's first whole-nation Biosphere in 2016, in recognition of its thriving natural habitats from returning wildlife to new marine reserves.

But it warns that while some wildlife is recovering, many species and habitats are still in long-term decline.

It comes ahead of a UNESCO decision next summer on whether the island will keep its status.

What is a UNESCO Biosphere?

UNESCO (the United Nations' agency for education, science and culture) Biosphere status recognises places that balance protecting nature with supporting people, communities and the economy.

The Isle of Man became the first entire country, including its surrounding seas, to be given the status, which is reviewed every 10 years.

A Shearwater skims along the water as it takes off

Image source, BBC NatureImage caption,

The Manx shearwaters population has succesfully recovered following a rat cull

Success stories

Among the successes of the Biosphere's first decade was the return of juniper, a native shrub that had been lost from the island.

The last native plant on the island was dug up from Glen Auldyn in 1947 in an attempt to save it, but died soon afterwards.

Since 2016, it has been replanted in the uplands, with surveys showing "encouraging survival and growth".

Meanwhile on the Calf of Man, controlling rats - referred to locally as "longtails" to avoid bad luck - has helped the Manx shearwater recover to about 1,500 breeding pairs.

Nine new Marine Nature Reserves have been created since 2016, and together they now cover more than half the sea within three nautical miles of the coast.

By the end of last year, 420 hectares of damaged peatland had also been restored.

in the distance of the image you can see a brown island below cloudy skies

Image source, Manx ScenesImage caption,

The Calf of Man, off the southern tip of the island, is an important breeding ground for seabirds

Still work to do

A 2024 assessment found 48 of the 166 bird species regularly seen on the island were on the red list of greatest conservation concern. Another cause for concern was that monitoring has found declines in young salmon.

The report also acknowledges sewage is still being discharged into the sea at Peel and in Garff, though work on a new treatment works for Peel began last year.

It says Biosphere status is "not a claim that everything is working as it should", and that its credibility depends partly on being prepared to admit where it is not.

Biosphere Isle of Man chairman Jason Bissell said there was "much to celebrate from our first decade, and much still to do".

The report has been published alongside an exhibition at the Manx Museum entitled Jeihosphere, which tells the Biosphere's story through 10 objects, running until 28 February.