Committee calls for new funding for nature restoration
An advisory body has recommended the government provide separate funding to meet obligations under the Nature Restoration Law (NRL).
Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan, yesterday (Wednesday March 18th) received the final report from the Independent Advisory Committee on Nature Restoration (IAC).
The report comprises a set of recommendations to inform the development of Ireland’s Nature Restoration Plan.
The document was developed over the last 15 months by the committee which included representatives from a range of sectors, including farming organisations.
Committee
Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, chair of the Independent Advisory Committee on Nature Restoration (IAC), told Agriland it was "an extraordinary coming together of all of the stakeholders".
"I said from the outset as chair that I wanted to come to a document that everybody could agree to.
"We weren't going to write down anything that the whole committee wasn't in agreement with, and that we would try to produce a set of really coherent, credible recommendations that would lead to an implementable plan.
"It’s a credit to the work of the committee over 15 months that we got a document that I feel is quite succinct, it's quite accessible, and I think it speaks to the all the diversity of perspectives that came to the table to discuss this," she said.
Nature Restoration
The report, which is yet to be published, contains "extensive" recommendations for the government to ensure the nature restoration plan can work in practice.
One of the main priority recommendations is for an "additional pot of money" to be set aside for the new obligations that the State has under the Nature Restoration Law.
Dr Ní Shúilleabháin said this is to ensure that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) "isn't being asked to also incorporate all of the new obligations of the nature restoration regulation".
"This money then gets put towards supporting our farmers, our fishermen and our foresters, to make sure that the work that they do in protecting and restoring nature is recognised as the public good that it is.
"So for our food producers, for our farmers, that we recognise that their job is not only just food production, but it is also looking after nature, and that the rest of society should pay for that," she said.
Dr Ní Shúilleabháin said the Fund for Nature will help to revive rural and coastal communities and "hopefully incentivise generational renewal".
Public lands
The committee also recommends that the State should lead on meeting nature restoration targets by using public lands.
Dr Ní Shúilleabháin noted that the State owns up to 11% of land on the island.
"Traditionally, we've very much relied on our private landowners to help us meet our targets that are already outlined in various regulations. But we're saying these are state targets, so let's lead it on state land," she said.
She said this includes national parks and lands owned by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Coillte, Bord na Mona, local authorities and other State bodies.
"When they do it on public land, it will hopefully provide examples of what best practice might look like and give us place for training of those skills that we so badly require now, because there's a huge shortage of foresters and ecologists out there," she said.
Farmers
Dr Ní Shúilleabháin said the committee “listened very carefully” to concerns raised by farmer organisations about the Nature Restoration Law.
"In our report, we have very, very much put the farmers perspective front and centre," she said.
"We also really took note of all of the public and stakeholder engagement, that included a Farming for the Future Leaders' Forum and a Land Leaders' Forum, and farmers voices came through very clearly on that.
"We have emphasised and reiterated that any additional obligations here are voluntary, and we have received assurances that is always the case.
"We’ve also outlined that it's really important that these additional pieces of work are paid for, because these are ecosystem services for public good," she added.
Misinformation
Dr Ní Shúilleabháin said there is also an opportunity now to review existing schemes "to make sure that they actually work for farmers" and are easy to access.
She also said that it is important to "push back against any misinformation that is out there on the nature restoration regulation".
"I don't think this is something that farmers need to fear, but perhaps be wary of anyone that is trying to stir up any fear through misinformation.
"In our report and our recommendations, this was very much structured with the farmers in mind, because we depend on the farmers for so much.
"Also, they own nearly 70% of the land across the state, and they will be absolutely key to ensuring that the State meets its obligations even,” she said.
Recommendations
The IAC met a total of 15 times and heard presentations from a range of key stakeholders.
Over 1,000 people also took part in a public and stakeholder engagement programme to inform the committee's work.
In addition, 536 people participated in 10 in-person and two online "community conversation" events.
Minister O’Sullivan thanked the committee for the "participatory, bottom-up approach they took to the development of their recommendations".
“Now, it’s my job to take their work forward. Over the coming weeks, I will be reading the recommendations in depth, engaging with colleagues across government and working out the detail of how we use them.
"My goal is to develop an innovative, bold and ambitious plan to restore nature in Ireland and demonstrate how healthy ecosystems will benefit us all. I intend to publish the recommendations as soon as possible," he said.
