The Irish Whale & Dolphin Group (IWDG) has been named as a Ryanair international environmental partner for 2019, with the help of customer carbon offset donations.
Three other groups, Native Woodland Trust, First Climate (Uganda) and Renature Monchique, have also been named as charity partners.
The IWDG is dedicated to the conservation of whales, dolphins, and porpoises and Ryanair will work with the IWDG on key initiatives and conservation campaigns throughout the year, supporting this worthy partnership through customer carbon offset donations.
Ryanair’s Chief Marketing Officer, Kenny Jacobs said: “We are delighted to announce our first ever environmental partners, supporting four great projects across Europe and Africa. More than €1m will be donated from our customers and Ryanair to our partners – First Climate in Uganda; Renature Monchique in Portugal; Irish Whale & Dolphin Group and Ireland’s Native Woodland Trust.
At Ryanair, we are committed to minimising our own environmental impact. We are already Europe’s greenest airline, operating the youngest fleet (average age of six years) with the highest load factors. With this latest initiative we continue to lead the way, and we encourage our customers to support these exciting partnerships by making carbon offset donations when booking flights.”
IWDG CEO, Dr Simon Berrow said: “Whales and dolphins are top predators and their health reflects the health of our oceans. We are incredibly fortunate to have a diversity of whale and dolphin species in Irish waters, including large whales such as fin and humpbacks. The IWDG is committed to protecting these species and their habitats and in order to achieve this we need to gain a better understanding of how they use Irish waters.
The WhaleTrack Ireland project supported by Ryanair will enable us mobilise a network of IWDG members, whale researchers and citizen scientists, throughout the island of Ireland, to monitor whale movements, identify threats and enable people in Ireland experience these magnificent creatures for themselves.
With Ryanair support, we will strive to ensure Irish waters remain a sanctuary for whales and in so doing we will help create healthier ecosystems for both marine species and coastal communities,” Dr Berrow added.