Press Release 15th December 2022 Ireland should aim to protect 30% of our land and sea as part of global efforts to reverse biodiversity loss at COP15 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is calling on the Irish government, represented at the COP15 meeting in Montreal, Canada by Minister for State Malcolm Noonan, to commit Ireland […]
The Government at COP15 December 11th 2022 COP15, being held in Montreal, Canada, is the biggest, most important event for biodiversity in over a decade. The previous one of this magnitude, held in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, was the last to produce an overarching agreement among the world’s countries to stop the loss of species and […]
Press Release: Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes recommendations from the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss 28th November 2022 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) warmly welcomes the recommendation from the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss that the constitution should be amended to better protect biodiversity. The IWT had asked in our submission that the rights of nature […]
Nature Restoration Law 27th November 2022 Democracy requires a lot of talking. Too much talking many might say, and certainly when it comes to the biodiversity and climate emergency we have heard far too much talk accompanied by precious little action. As I write, the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss has just voted to pass […]
Crisis of Consultations November 13th 2022 “We want to hear your views”: six words that make hardened environmental activists want to take up smoking. Much time is devoted by NGOs and local community groups to making submissions to ‘public consultations’. This is where the government or one of its agencies asks ‘the public’ for its […]
PRESS RELEASE 08th November 2022 Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes €1.3 billion funding for new forest programme but warns that money alone will not address problems The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) welcomes the additional funding for forestry schemes announced last week (3/11/22) by Minister for Land Use and Biodiversity, Pippa Hackett. The increased grant and premium […]
A revolution is underway October 29th 2022 Loss of biodiversity is a sad feature of humanity since our earliest ancestors first left the plains of Africa, but it was the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492 that unleashed an assault on the natural world unlike anything seen in human history. The spread […]
Toxic denial October 16th 2022 Denial remains a prevailing feature of the faltering approach to our collapsing biosphere. Outright climate denial has ceased to be a standard feature of debates even if it hasn’t completely disappeared. Extinction denial hasn’t been so noticeable but that is likely due to the fact that biodiversity loss has not […]
Brazil’s national election and the fate of the Amazon Fabiola Gomes Vieira October 1st 2022 Once again Brazil is preparing for a presidential election, only this time the date is surrounded by even more attention and tension than normal. After four years of the government of Jair Bolsonaro, champion of the loosening of environmental protection […]
No more industrial tree farms 17th of September 2022 Will Ireland’s new Forest Strategy prove to be the acorn that went on to be a mighty oak? Or will it be a seed in the wind, destined to land on stony ground? It’s hard to get excited about new strategies, given our long history of […]
PRESS RELEASE 29th July 2022 Emissions reductions deal a dreadful failure of leadership The deal reached by the government, which fails to meet even the minimum legal requirement of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030, has demonstrated a dreadful lack of leadership. The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is particularly disappointed that more was […]
Dodgy Dealings Under the Sea by Pádraic Fogarty July 23rd 2022 Hundreds of records released to Coastal Concern Alliance, a citizens’ group, under Freedom of Information and Access to Information on the Environment rules raise serious questions for habitat protection and wind farm development in the Irish Sea Was there political interference in designating sites […]
EU nature law could be gamechanger for marine biodiversity, but will be meaningless if fisheries not properly addressed NGOs react to the marine aspects of the law Brussels – Today, the European Commission presented its legislative proposal on nature restoration, a new law with binding targets to restore degraded land and marine ecosystems across the […]
Species in Focus: Cormorant As the summer starts to pick up speed, you might find yourself heading down to the beach to cool off. Keep an eye on the sea when you’re there, and you might spot a cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) out on a fishing trip. Cormorants are common seabirds, although they’re often mixed up […]
Sinn Féin and biodiversity June 11th 2022 The government is nearing its second birthday. At the end of this year, at the halfway point if the government goes to full term, Micheál Martin will be replaced as Taoiseach by Leo Varadkar. While Martin has backed a response to the biodiversity emergency, even addressing the National […]
Revitalising Ireland’s Seas Irish NGO coalition presents report on identifying ‘Areas of Interest’ for Marine Protected Area designation in Irish waters Wednesday, July 6th, 2022, 11 AM (WEST) Where: Zoom Watch the recording of this event here: Event information Fair Seas is an Irish coalition campaign that seeks to build a movement of ocean stewardship […]
30 years of plans… and counting May 28th 2022 Next month (June) will mark the 30th anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit. That’s right, 30 years. In 1992, when I was just finished my first year in college and heading off for a summer of fun in Munich, thousands of delegates from across the globe […]
Species in Focus: Painted Lady When you think of far-ranging animals found across all the continents, your mind probably goes straight to birds. But would you believe there’s a species of butterfly that does just as much exploring? The painted lady (Vanessa cardui) is the most widespread species of butterfly in the world. It occurs […]
PRESS RELEASE 18th May 2022 Irish Wildlife Trust opposes redesignation of 466 water bodies as ‘highly modified’ – the move could leave thousands of kilometres of river permanently degraded and near lifeless The Irish Wildlife Trust has responded to the public consultation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the redesignation of hundreds of water […]
Could this be a super year? Yesterday (May 14th) marked the first full day of the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, nearly three years since the idea was first mooted on the very same day the Dáil declared a climate and biodiversity emergency. Hardly an emergency response but a welcome development all the same. 100 […]
PRESS RELEASE: The Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes report adopted by the European Parliament calling for urgent action on bottom-contacting fishing gear, but questions why majority of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) would not support a ban on bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) adopted an Own Initiative Report […]
Press Release 4th May 2022 Irish Wildlife Trust warmly welcomes reform of nature conservation in Ireland The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) welcomes the announcement that cabinet has signed off on reform of governance structures for nature conservation in Ireland. An independent review into the National Parks and Wildlife Service last year found fundamental weaknesses […]
Is this progress? I had a dream that I was listing to Claire Byrne’s RTÉ radio show every day this week where she interviewed politicians from across the spectrum on the imminent extinction of curlews in Ireland. I imagined I heard Fine Gael’s Patrick O’Donovan list all the townlands in his constituency where curlews could […]
Real Marine Protected Areas are within the EU’s grasp An important vote on the Initiative Report of MEP Isabel Carvalhais “Toward a sustainable blue economy in the EU: the role of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors”, is taking place in the European Parliament on May 3rd. MEPs will have the chance to vote on prohibiting […]
Species in Focus: Dandelions At this point in the year, I’d imagine anyone who likes a manicured lawn is sick of seeing a certain stubborn yellow flower pop up all over their grass. However dandelions are a valuable native wildflower and have much to offer wildlife and us. Dandelions are useful and industrious plants that […]
Doing Nothing on the Bogs It’s nearly a decade since I travelled to Glenveagh in Donegal to look at what I had been told was widespread illegality and habitat destruction inside the eponymous National Park. I found the accusations hard to believe at the time, given the high profile of the Park but there it […]
There are many animals in Ireland that are under threat from various sources, and the freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) is catching it from all sides. Freshwater pearl mussels, like the saltwater mussels we eat, are bivalves. Bivalves are molluscs with soft bodies protected by a hinged shell which can open and close as they […]
Rewilding: winning hearts and minds I’ve never particularly liked the term ‘wilderness’. Although it is instantly evocative it carries so much colonialist baggage that I think it best avoided, regardless of whether you think it even exists or not (for background on this I can recommend this important essay by William Cronon). These days many […]
PRESS RELEASE 01st April 2022 Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes condemnation of illegal fires by Minister Malcolm Noonan but more must be done The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) strongly welcomes the robust condemnation of illegal fires by Minister of State for Heritage & Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan however a lot more needs to be done […]
Take Action for Wildlife: Don’t mow, let it grow! 1. Protect our dandelions. Hold off with that first cut of grass till late April to allow dandelions feed the bees until other flowers come into bloom. 2. When you do start cutting the grass manage your lawn in a nature friendly manner cutting […]
