Sailors, rowers, fishers, anglers and other marine users have been urged to participate in a public consultation for the fourth National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP).
Submissions to the consultation at www.gov.ie/biodiversityplan should be lodged before November 9th, 2022.
The consultation is run by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), a division of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
It follows a period of engagement with stakeholder groups, including government departments, agencies, businesses, and representatives of the Biodiversity Forum.
The National Biodiversity Conference, held in June of this year, also forms part of the consultation. At the event, a wide audience engaged in discussions on Ireland’s response to biodiversity loss, conservation and protection, according to the Department of Housing.
The draft objectives of the National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP) are to:
- adopt a whole of Government, whole of society approach to biodiversity
- meet urgent conservation and restoration needs
- secure nature’s contribution to people
- embed biodiversity at the heart of climate action
- enhance the evidence base for action on biodiversity
- strengthen Ireland’s contribution to international biodiversity
The draft NBAP is described as setting out a vision for an Ireland in 2050 “in which biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored, and sustainably used maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people”.
“The draft plan is informed by an extensive review of national, European, and international policies, strategies, legislation and science,” the Department of Housing states.
“ The NBAP will be Ireland’s main mechanism for engagement with ongoing policy developments at regional and global level including opportunities such as a new Global Biodiversity Framework, on the EU Biodiversity Strategy and Nature Restoration Law,” it states.
The final version of the Plan will be published in early 2023, to allow the recommendations of the ongoing Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss to be considered.
Minister of State for Heritage Malcolm Noonan said that the public consultation had been initiated “against a backdrop of unprecedented challenges for nature in Ireland and globally”.
“How we collectively and collaboratively address these challenges will define not just our ability to halt biodiversity loss, but how we as a species will survive and thrive into the future,” he said.
“We have a lot of positives to draw from and inspire us. The Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss and the parallel Children and Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss will help to inform us on the way forward, through new ideas, new ways of doing things and new ways of collaborating towards the conservation and restoration of nature in Ireland,” he said.
“The renewal of the National Parks and Wildlife Service through my action plan will strengthen our collective ability towards ensuring that the next NBAP is an all-of-government and all-of-society response to this great challenge. The recent second National Biodiversity Conference, which included a stirring address by An Taoiseach, inspired all in attendance towards this great collective action,” he said.
Noonan urged the public to have their say, stating that it was “ really important that the next National Biodiversity Action Plan be in itself a living document”.
“Yes, it must be actionable and impactful, but it must also reflect the different voices that will inform its content. I urge members of the public to have their say and engage with this public consultation,” Noonan said.
The draft Fourth National Biodiversity Action Plan can be found at www.gov.ie/biodiversityplan where members of the public can also make their submission to the public consultation.
