Karin Dubsky (born 1954) is a German-Irish marine ecologist working in Trinity College Dublin, notable as an environmental activist, the coordinator and co-founder of Coastwatch Europe, an environmental NGO and a member of the European Environmental Bureau. Dubsky was the Green Party candidate for the 2019 Wexford by-election, in which she was not elected. Early life and education Dubsky was born in Bonn, Germany, and grew up on a farm straddling Bannow Bay, County Wexford, Ireland. She attended Newtown School, Waterford and then Trinity College Dublin, where she secured a BA in Zoology. She then pursued a Masters in Environmental Sciences, taken partly in Galway, completed in Trinity College Dublin. Career Dubsky has worked professionally in environmental education, and in research and practical projects, ranging from wetland protection, over waste, oil and litter prevention and control, coastal zone management, environmental law and biodiversity policy. Environmental programs and campaigns Karin Dubsky speaks and campaigns regularly on environmental issues, especially affecting water quality, wetlands, dunes and bathing beaches, in the Irish media. She campaigned for reform of legislation including public information on water quality of bathing beaches, which was introduced in Ireland ahead of other countries. Dubsky co-designed the Blue Flag for Beaches award programme, co-founded the Irish Clean Air Group, an inter-disciplinary group from TCD and hospitals led by Dr. Luke Clancy, which successfully lobbied for the introduction of smokeless fuel in Ireland, and set up an international volunteer eco-audit of the coast which spread to 23 countries. Data from the survey were used by OSPAR and the EEA. Data from the Coastwatch survey were also used to lobby for a plastic bag tax in Ireland, which, when introduced, was the first in Europe and brought plastic bag litter down from over 54 per km of shoreline to around 3–4. She co-authored the chapter on public participation and communication in the World Health Organization's Practical Guide to the Design and Implementation of Assessments and Monitoring Programmes for bathing waters Dubsky was appointed to the environmental pillar of Ireland's social partnership in May 2009 and is on NESC (The National Economic and Social Council, the Dublin Regional Authority's Dublin Bay Task Force and the Wexford Local Development Board. She was a member of the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board from 2005–2010, and Comhar. Other activities Dubsky drew public and official attention to Dublin area raw sewage problems by gaining access to official water