Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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39. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the objectives, targets and actions contained in the National Biodiversity Action Plan 2017-2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26715/18]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The National Biodiversity Action Plan 2017-2021, Ireland's third national biodiversity plan, was launched in October 2017. The new Plan demonstrates Ireland’s continuing commitment to meeting and acting on its obligations to protect our biodiversity for the benefit of future generations through a series of targeted strategies and actions.

The Plan reiterates Ireland’s Vision for Biodiversity: that in the future “biodiversity and ecosystems in Ireland are conserved and restored, delivering benefits essential for all sectors of society and that Ireland contributes to efforts to halt the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystems in the EU and globally”.

The NBAP is a National Plan and, while my Department is the lead agency in development and coordination of the Plan, its implementation depends on engagement across a range of Government departments and agencies, as well as local authorities and other stakeholders across sectors in Ireland.

As a Party to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Ireland has made a commitment to prepare Action Plans towards the achievement of the Convention’s targets:  namely to secure the conservation of biological diversity; sustainable use of its components; and the equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources.  Many of the targeted actions in the Plan also contribute towards Ireland’s obligations under EU environmental directives.

The Plan contains 119 actions under a framework of seven strategic objectives. These encompass mainstreaming biodiversity into decision making across all sectors; strengthening the knowledge base for the conservation, management and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services; increasing awareness and appreciation of biodiversity and ecosystem services; conserving and restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services in the wider countryside; conserving and restoring ecosystem services in the marine environment; expanding and improving management of protected areas and species; and strengthening international governance for biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The objectives in the NBAP lay out a clear framework for our national approach to biodiversity and will ensure that we build on the efforts and achievements of the past while looking ahead to what we can achieve over the next five years and beyond.

The National Biodiversity Action Plan is available for download at the website of my Department's National Parks and Wildlife Service (www.npws.ie).