National and international experts will come together at the next National Biodiversity Conference in Dublin on June 8-9, 2022, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan has announced.
The conference under the theme ‘Act now for Nature’ will mark a key milestone in the development of Ireland’s fourth National Biodiversity Action Plan which will be implemented over a period of five years.
The conference is an initiative of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and its National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), and forms part of a public consultation on the action plan.
Announcing the next National Biodiversity Conference, Minister Noonan said:
“We need a diversity of voices to discuss challenges, explore solutions and establish ways to collaborate more effectively on implementation. I’d like to encourage everyone – including farmers, foresters, fishers and community groups – to get involved.”
Stakeholders from the public, private and academic sectors, as well as non-governmental organisations, will attend the conference to share experiences in protecting, conserving and restoring biodiversity, and to offer insights to inform the next National Biodiversity Action Plan.
National Biodiversity Action Plan
A climate and biodiversity emergency was declared in the Dáil in 2019 and global biodiversity loss continues at a rate unprecedented in human history, according to the department.
In Ireland, many protected habitats are in poor condition and 14% of assessed species are thought to be endangered, the department said, which threatens the environment and national heritage, but also the economy and society.
Minister Noonan said that biodiversity loss is a critical issue that impacts the natural world, societies and economies as humans depend on nature for survival. He added that nature is the first and best defence against climate change:
“We cannot stand idly by while the web of life falls apart. Ecosystems regulate the climate, fertilise soils, purify water, produce oxygen and pollinate our crops. Many have already seen irreversible changes, including in Ireland.”
The next National Biodiversity Action Plan, the minister said, will seek urgent solutions to reverse losses, enable protection, support conservation and deliver restoration through an all-government and society approach.
There are six objectives in the current draft action plan; thematic areas supporting these objectives will be explored at the conference:
- Fostering a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach;
- Meeting urgent conservation needs;
- Securing nature’s contribution to people;
- Linking biodiversity and climate action;
- Enhancing the evidence basis for action;
- Strengthening partnerships for people and planet.
The last conference was held in 2019 under the title ‘New Horizons for Nature’ .