Want to have your say on Ireland's Nature Restoration Plan?
Ten events are to be held across the country to give anyone who wants it an opportunity to have their say on Ireland's Nature Restoration Plan.
The ten "community conversation" events, according to Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan, will give the public "an opportunity to contribute to the national dialogue on nature restoration".
The events will be held across this month and next and will be led by an "independent team of expert facilitators using participatory engagement techniques".
Feedback from the community conversation events will then be shared with the Independent Advisory Committee on Nature Restoration, which is responsible for making recommendations to Minister O’Sullivan on the development of Ireland’s Nature Restoration Plan.
Dr. Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, the chair of the Independent Advisory Committee, believes that local people and communities "know their lands and seas best, they know what works and what does not".
Meanwhile Minister O’Sullivan said he has "no doubt that communities are way ahead of us all in their thinking".
"I’m committed to ensuring that Ireland’s Nature Restoration Plan works for people as well as nature, so it’s essential that the recommendations I receive from the Independent Advisory Committee are grounded in real world experience.
"I’d like to encourage everyone to get involved and have their say,” he added.
The Nature Restoration Law sets out that EU countries must restore at least 30% of habitats in poor condition by 2030.
To reach the overall EU targets, member states must restore at least 30% of habitats covered by the law - from forests, grasslands and wetlands to rivers, lakes and coral beds - from a poor to a good condition by 2030, then this increases to 60% by 2040, and 90% by 2050.
The 'community conversation' events will be held on:
- September 14 – Lahinch, Co. Clare – focus on coastal ecosystems;
- September 25 – Iveragh, Co. Kerry – focus on upland ecosystems;
- October 2 – Killybegs, Co. Donegal – focus on marine ecosystems;
- October 5 – Askeaton, Co. Limerick – focus on agricultural ecosystems;
- October 11 – Carlingford, Co. Louth – focus on upland and coastal ecosystems;
- October 18 – Ballyforan, Co. Roscommon – focus on peatland ecosystems;
- October 28 – Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow – focus on urban ecosystems;
- October 30 – Phibsboro, Co. Dublin – focus on urban ecosystems.
Two online events will also be held towards the end of October, details of these have not yet been released.
