The National Biodiversity Forum was established in 2006 under the auspices of Comhar, The National Sustainable Development Partnership.   The establishment of a Stakeholders forum on Biodiversity is one of the actions listed in the National Biodiversity Plan 2002- 2007: to “establish a specific Biodiversity Forum, representative of all stakeholders, to provide a mechanism for consultation with, and input from, all interested parties specifically in relation to biodiversity”.

 The Forum is made up of representatives from social, economic, academic, state, and environmental non-governmental sectors, in addition to representatives from the equivalent body in Northern Ireland.  An Taisce were previously active on the Comhar Working Group on Biodiversity, we have coordinated the input of the Network for Action on Biodiversity to the remit of the Forum,  and we are now be represented on the Forum by our Natural Environment Officer, Anja Murray.    

 Some of the main functions of the forum are

• independent monitoring of progress in implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity,  highlighting progress and bottlenecks;
• to oversee independent monitoring of the implementation of the National Biodiversity Plan and promote the objectives of the plan among its members;
•  informed contribution to the drafting and implementation of the second National Biodiversity Plan;
• to promote the sectoral integration of biodiversity planning
• promoting a biodiversity education and awareness strategy as identified in the NBP.

An Taisce are active participants in the Biodiversity Forum, and ore on the Agriculture and Forestry working groups of the Forum.  We are keen to ensure that the Forum is not a talk shop but a catalyst to achieving results – both in awareness raising and education within each sector and in progressing the National Biodiversity Plan by advising government on biodiversity issues.

See the minutes of the first meeting here