Join us this Wednesday at 1pm to hear all about Farming and Biodiversity with Oonagh Duggan!
Oonagh is Head of Policy and Advocacy with Birdwatch Ireland, and sits on the National Biodiversity Forum as well as the CAP Consultative Committee.

Register: eventbrite.ie/e/420886120717

Planting trees ≠ establishing forests

e360.yale.edu/features/phant…

Fishing nets as tall as a three-storey building destroy everything in their path, killing hundreds of marine species. Virginijus Sinkevičius European Commission 🇪🇺 – ban this harmful practice ASAP! #BanBottomTrawling act.wemove.eu/campaigns/dest…

The main purpose of marine protected areas is to allow biodiversity to recover.

That they also benefit fisheries is secondary but highlights the insanity of trenchant opposition from the fishing industry

nationalgeographic.com/environment/ar…

'Lack of political will' - this can be translated as meaning politicians don't see any votes in fighting for clean water, nature etc. That has to change

irishexaminer.com/news/arid-4098…

'It's quite odd in Europe to have a non-native as the most common wild mammal!' Fascinating study from Adam F. Smith 🇺🇦

The EPA ‘Urban Waste Water Treatment in 2021’ report indicates that poorly treated sewage continues to harm our rivers, lakes and coastal waters and the EPA urges Irish Water to have clear, site specific plans to address this.

Read the report: bit.ly/3D7F9Vm

#OEE

The law (hopefully) will be in force in 2024 but we must not sleep-walk our way into this. Politicians who want climate/biodiversity action need to engage now. We simply can't afford to repeat the mistakes of the past.

There's lots to discuss about the Nature Restoration Law and how it can be made to work on the ground. But the display of doom-mongering and denial in the face of very real disaster is dispiriting to put it mildly...

Not a single voice at the meeting spoke for the urgent need for ecological restoration measures, or even how farmers can or should be supported to transition to a climate and nature friendly system. Not a whisper as to why ecosystem collapse is *the* greatest threat to farmers...

For good measures one of the climate denying rural independent TDs called for the environmental NGOs to be de-funded, a call that was echoed by the INHFA (that will surely put an end to the imploding biosphere)...

No Green Party Ireland member turned up to this. It was noted that Eamon Ryan has signalled Ireland's support for the Restoration Law but there has been radio silence from government departments about what this means and how it's going to work...