Ireland’s second National Biodiversity Conference 2022 was held in Dublin Castle and streamed live online over two days this week on 8 and 9 June, 2022.
In his keynote address the Taoiseach Micheál Martin pledged government support for the outcomes of the 2-day event, adding that “the time has come for a new era of stewardship of our natural world.” He said that the deliberations are vitally important to the future of our country.”
“Biodiversity loss will only be successfully tackled as an all-of-government and all-of-society project, which will require the vigilance of planners, local authorities, agricultural advisers and all manifestations of state who have a hand in regulating interventions in our land, rivers, lakes, seas and air,” he said.
“The rich tapestry of the natural world has been our inheritance. In many ways we have fallen short in protecting it. But knowing what we know, we can resolve to change our approach and put the protection of nature and climate at the heart of our decision making.”
He commented that from a farming perspective, results-based, community-level projects are “the way forward for nature” and he praised those who have signed up to such schemes.
The Taoiseach was happy with progress on shaping the fourth National Biodiversity Action Plan which he dubbed “Ireland’s keystone policy for the recovery and restoration of nature”.
A wide range of experts on biodiversity also addressed the conference over the 2 days. Plenary sessions held over 2 days will directly inform the fourth National Biodiversity Action Plan.
As the conference closed, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, announced strategic pledges.
These included:
- An additional €17 million to support breeding waders and their habitats in the wider countryside. The programme will be designed to support and compliment the Breeding Wader EIP, part of the CAP Strategic Plan, co-funded with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to support bird species, including curlew, lapwing and golden plover across the country
- A commitment to fast-track the recruitment of Biodiversity Officers in every Local Authority within 3 years. 6 will be appointed in 2022, bringing to 11 the number in place by the end of the year
- €1.5 million to support varied initiatives that work with National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) teams across critical areas in research, engagement and policy
- The Farming for Nature Project will benefit from increased funding to support its development and outreach in engaging with farmers, enabling knowledge-sharing and delivering peer learning to support biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes
- The National Biodiversity Forum to expand its role to do more in the science-policy space to support effective evidence-based action, as well as stakeholder consultation work across the wider sector
- The All-Ireland Climate and Biodiversity Research Network to design and synergise research that supports integrated climate and biodiversity policy measures
- €300,000 will be provided to support the monitoring stream of BIODIVERSA, the European biodiversity partnership supporting research on biodiversity
For more information, including videos, see here.