New: National Biodiversity Action Plan progress report

A progress report on the 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan 2023-2030 has been published with almost 80% of 194 actions on track or complete.

Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan TD, has published the report, prepared by the National Parks and Wildlife Service with input from the Inter-departmental Biodiversity Working Group, which finds that 44 actions have been fully completed since the National Biodiversity Action Plan was published in early 2024.

These include:

• the establishment of a new online tool to track progress
• actions for designated habitats and protected species, including the expansion of the network of National Parks and Nature Reserves.
• new guidelines for the development of Local Authority Biodiversity Action Plans.
• annual reporting for public bodies with a guidance document drafted by BFBI’s Research and Technical Lead Dr Emer Ní Dhúill launched last summer.
• restoration efforts have intensified with a series of key stakeholder events regarding the preparation of the National Nature Restoration Plan (NRP).

Minister O’Sullivan said:

“The progress we are seeing reflects a truly collaborative effort across Government, public bodies and wider society to protect and restore nature, and I would like to thank everyone whose work has helped us get to this point. It’s vital now that we maintain this focus and keep moving forward together.

“Sustained commitment is essential to ensure that Ireland’s fourth National Biodiversity Action Plan – which was ranked as one of the best in the world by the WWF – can be translated into the lasting recovery that our natural world needs. More people than ever understand that nature is at the root of our culture, our health and wellbeing, and our economy.”

To progress the remaining actions, including some of the several of which BFBI is an owner, the report identifies a critical need to increase private sector participation and supports, and to improve the our biodiversity data infrastructure to inform future decision-making.

• The 2025 Report on Implementation of Ireland’s National Biodiversity Action Plan 2023-2030 is available to download here
• Check out the National Biodiversity Action Plan Progress Tracker available here.

The NBAP is scheduled for a formal update in 2027 following the publication of the NRP.