Minister of State for heritage and electoral reform, Malcolm Noonan has pledged the support of the Government of Ireland to the COP15 biodiversity negotiations taking place in Montreal over the coming weeks.
The Irish government will be represented by delegates from the National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS) and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
They will negotiate in coordination with EU partners for an agreement capable of addressing the huge challenges facing biodiversity globally.
Biodiversity
According to the minister, biodiversity represents the variety of life on earth and provides us with important ecosystem services such as food, pollination, soil fertility, water purification and climate regulation.
National, regional and global assessments have demonstrated ongoing declines in biodiversity.
The aim of the COP15 negotiations will be to establish a global deal to reverse biodiversity loss and stop the ongoing deterioration of nature, including animal and plant species, habitats and ecosystems.
The meetings in Montreal form the second part of the 2020 UN Biodiversity Conference including the 15th meeting of the COP to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15).
Its aim is to agree a new Global Biodiversity Framework with concrete actions and targets to 2030 and the resources needed to tackle this crisis globally over the coming decade.
Targets to address overexploitation of nature, pollution, fragmentation and unsustainable agricultural practices are anticipated, along with global targets relating to protected areas and restoration.
Minister Noonan said: “COP15 is the most important meeting on biodiversity in over a decade and I’ll be there representing the Irish Government, who will negotiate in a bloc with the EU and its member states as a positive voice for nature and biodiversity.
“There is much to do. Nature is essential for human existence, but we’re losing species faster than at any time over the past 10 million years.
“The great majority of the world’s ecosystems are showing rapid decline. Some scientists say we’re entering a sixth mass extinction – the fifth was the dinosaurs.
“COP15 is happening at a crucial time for humanity, when the urgent need to shore up nature’s contributions to people are more starkly obvious than ever,” the minister added.
“Food security, flood and drought mitigation, carbon sequestration and the provision of clean water are issues of significant global concern in today’s world, and all are underpinned by healthy nature.
“That’s without even mentioning the deep cultural and spiritual connections so many of us feel to the great web of life that has evolved over billions of years, and of which we are a part.”
The minister stressed that it is time for ambition, leadership and for bold action, as nature is running out of time.
COP15 negotiations
Ireland will negotiate at COP15 in coordination with the EU and its member states.
The EU has a biodiversity strategy in place (EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030) which aims to restore, protect and fund activities to protect biodiversity within the EU and among member states.
At COP15, the EU will negotiate for measurable goals and targets to:
- Protect at least 30% of land and oceans by 2030;
- Restore 3 billion hectares of both land and oceans;
- Halt species extinctions caused by humans;
- Address unsustainable agriculture, forestry and fisheries;
- Tackle drivers of biodiversity loss such as pesticides, invasive alien species and plastics;
- Strengthen the links between biodiversity and climate action e.g., with nature-based solutions.
In 2021, Ireland signed up to the High Ambition Coalition for Nature, a joint initiative chaired by France and Costa Rica to mobilise political will for an ambitious, transformative post-2020 agreement at COP15.
Ireland has also intensified its efforts to tackle biodiversity loss at home. On May 9, 2019, Dáil Éireann declared a climate and biodiversity emergency.
The Strategic Action Plan and Review of the NPWS published earlier this year sets out robust actions and resourcing plans for the NPWS.
These include its establishment as an executive agency within the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, a full organisational restructuring and a substantial €55 million additional investment in the organisation across three budgetary cycles.
The first three-year Statement of Strategy of the NPWS is currently open for public consultation. The fourth National Biodiversity Action Plan, due to be published in 2023, has recently undergone public consultation and is currently being drafted.
The NPWS performs a wide variety of roles and responsibilities related to biodiversity.
These range from policy-making functions to operational responsibilities. The team of over 400 staff is spread across 32 office locations, in 19 counties.