Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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109. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of the implementation of the national biodiversity strategy; the Department leading the work; the structures in place within the Civil Service to oversee implementation; and if she will report on a biannual basis to the relevant Oireachtas committee with updates on the implementation of same. [17524/20]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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My Department is responsible for the implementation of a range of legislation and policy relating to biodiversity and nature in Ireland and is the National Focal Point for the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, an overarching international agreement underpinning global biodiversity conservation. In this context, my Department is the lead authority for the National Biodiversity Action Plan.

The current National Biodiversity Action Plan, Ireland’s 3rd, runs from 2017 to 2021 and captures the objectives, targets and actions for biodiversity to be undertaken by a wide range of government, civil society and private sectors to achieve Ireland’s Vision for Biodiversity.

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; increasing awareness and appreciation of biodiversity and ecosystem services; conserving and restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services in the wider countryside; the marine environment; expanding and improving management of protected areas and species; and strengthening international governance for biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The Plan is an all-of-Government document and progress is monitored through the Biodiversity Working Group (BWG), which meets at least twice a year, and also by an independent advisory group, the Biodiversity Forum.

Since its launch in late 2017, a wide range of measures have been implemented on foot of actions contained in the Plan, including the introduction of a new grant scheme for local authority led biodiversity projects in their respective areas. The Seeds for Nature charter, announced at the National Biodiversity Conference last year, is also a significant step forward.

In 2019, the members of the Biodiversity Working Group reported on progress with implementation of relevant Actions. On the basis of their submissions, my Department prepared and published an Interim Review of the National Biodiversity Action Plan 2017-2021 which is available at .

The next Conference of the Parties to the Convention is now scheduled to take place in China in the second quarter of 2021. My Department will begin drafting a new Plan in the context of the outcome of this meeting, where a new 'Global Biodiversity Framework' will be agreed.