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Wicklow Mountain Views – The Newsletter of the Wicklow Uplands Council.
Issue No. 31 – Winter 2022
National Biodiversity Conference Returns
(L-R) Michael Keegan (Board Member of WUC and Luggala Estate Manager), Lorna Kelly (Luggala Estate), Helen Lawless (Mountaineering Ireland), Brian Dunne (Wicklow Uplands Council) and Faith Wilson, Consultant Ecologist on SUAS Project at the National Biodiversity Conference 2022.
Under the theme of ‘Act Now For Nature’, Ireland’s second National Biodiversity Conference, made a very welcome return in June. Streamed online and with over 400 delegates in attendance, the two-day gathering explored numerous topics through a collection of keynote speeches, presentations, plenary sessions, group discussions and networking opportunities.
Hosted at The Printworks in Dublin Castle, its importance has perhaps taken on a new relevance, following its hiatus due to Covid measures. At the core of the conference was the act of bringing people together to meet, discuss and collectively contribute to finding solutions to our current biodiversity challenges. For those lucky enough to attend in-person, it perhaps created the first opportunity in a while to properly connect with familiar faces and to make new acquaintances.
Forming part of the public consultation on Ireland’s fourth National Biodiversity Action Plan, the full programme featured a host of national and international representatives from educational institutions, NGO’s, government bodies and state agencies.
Perhaps indicative of the growing global commitments to address the issues at hand, Ministers Darragh O’Brien, Malcolm Noonan and Pippa Hackett, along with representatives from European Council and UN assignments focussed on biodiversity, all addressed the audience during the opening plenary session, with Taoiseach, Micheál Martin delivering the conference keynote speech on the second day.
The event also provided the backdrop for Minister Malcolm Noonan to announce a pilot programme consisting of six new Biodiversity Officers to be recruited in six local authorities around the country. This development has led to October’s welcome announcement that the programme has been extended to 10 local authorities, including county Wicklow.
Having kindly received an invitation from The Heritage Council, Brian Dunne, Coordinator for Wicklow Uplands Council delivered a presentation in the session titled; ‘Connecting National Priorities: Biodiversity, Culture and Social Well-being’.
Chaired by Lorcan Scott of The Heritage Council, the collection of presentations and discussions explored a range of issues with a panel that also included Paddy Woodworth, Sanctuary in Nature and Heritage; Dr Brendan Dunford, The Burren Programme; Helen Riddell, Bere Island Conservation and Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, Chair of the Biodiversity Citizens’ Assembly.
With many of the Upland Council’s projects and initiatives centered around landscape and habitat actions in the region’s diverse and sensitive environment, Brian’s attendance presented an occasion to highlight some of the unique challenges that the uplands now face.
The uplands increasingly exhibit signs of biodiversity loss and climate change, so the Council’s participation in any discussion on forming an inclusive national response is warmly welcomed
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This newsletter and many of the previous publications are available online to view and download as PDF files directly from the Wicklow Uplands Council website.
CLICK HERE for this issue – Winter 2022.
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