Irish Wildlife Trust calls for strong new law in submission to the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss
The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) has made a submission to the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss which calls for a strong new Biodiversity Act that will put the protection and restoration of biodiversity on a par with addressing climate change. We have also called for the independent Biodiversity Forum to be beefed up so that it can help to hold the government to account for its commitments. These actions are part of a number of high-level recommendations which we believe are critical if we are to address the biodiversity crisis in a timely and meaningful manner.
Other recommendations include:
· Committing to protecting 30% of land by 2030 as part of the ‘Global Deal for Nature’ which is due to be agreed at COP15 in December of this year.
· Reforming state bodies, particularly Coillte, the Office of Public Works and Bord naMóna so that they are mandated to address the biodiversity crisis.
· Changing our Constitution to provide for the Rights of Nature.
· Launching a broad and deep education campaign to reconnect us with the wonders of nature around us and to explain why the biodiversity crisis matters.
IWT campaigns officer Pádraic Fogarty says: “the work of the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss over the coming months is vitally important in shaping our response to the crisis. As we see it, it boils downs to two main issues: 1. Leadership from the State to implement commitments already made as well as to increase the ambition needed to restore ecosystems; and 2. Reconnecting people with the inherent value of nature through education and a change to our Constitution. The members of the Assembly have a unique opportunity to transform the foundations of our relationship with nature which we hope they will seize.”
The full text of our submission can be found at this
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