The government has been urged to ensure that the recommendations in the final report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss are “fast tracked for action”.
The report including almost 160 recommendations, of which 17 are specific to agriculture, calls for greater enforcement and implementation of existing laws and policies to protect Ireland’s natural environment.
The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) called on the government to send the assembly’s final report, which was published early last month, to an Oireachtas committee to accelerate action for nature.
The report must be backed by “adequate and sustained financial and technical support”, the IWT said, to empower farmers, fishers, communities and local authorities to undertake actions on the ground.
“We have analysed the issue of biodiversity collapse now from every conceivable angle, it’s imperative that we move from making recommendations to implementation.
“This means politicians taking charge of the citizens’ assembly’s report and setting an agenda for making the changes that have to happen, and [that] fast,” IWT campaigns officer, Pádraic Fogarty said.
Speaking before TDs will deliver statements on biodiversity action in the Dáil tomorrow (Thursday, May 25), the IWT said a cross-party Oireachtas committee would be “best placed” to build on the report’s recommendations.
An independent review of the implementation and enforcement of biodiversity-related legislation, directives and policies has been recommended in the assembly’s final report.
Members of the assembly also voted that all governmental departments must acknowledge the state’s declaration of a biodiversity emergency and take “immediate and targeted action”.
National Biodiversity Action Plan
Ireland’s 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan will set the national biodiversity agenda and will be Ireland’s main mechanism for engagement with regional and global policy developments.
The plan for the 2023-2027 period, which aims to deliver the “transformative” changes required to protect nature, has been in development since October 2021, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage said.
The IWT believes that the National Biodiversity Action Plan must be put “on a par” with the Climate Action Plan, with defined reporting and accountability mechanisms.