Biodiversity, shortened from 'Biological Diversity', is the term given to the entire web of life on earth. Biodiversity is an enormously important aspect of our natural heritage and has important social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, recreational and aesthetic values. Biodiversity is all around us, from parks and gardens to fields and hedgerows, from the deep sea to mountain tops.   The term includes all components of life on earth, from microscopic mites to ancient trees. Biodiversity includes the diversity of individuals within a species (genetic diversity), diversity of species within an ecosystem or habitat (species diversity) and the diversity of ecosystems or habitats (habitat diversity).

Ecosystems provide a variety of functions including the regulation of climatic processes, breakdown of wastes and recycling of nutrients, filtering of water, buffer against flooding, maintenance of soil fertility and the provision of natural resources. These functions in turn provide a range of benefits to us, called 'ecosystem services' .  Biodiversity also provides environmental monitoring indicators such as invertebrates for water quality and lichens for air quality.  In short, Biodiversity is our life support system, sustaining our natural environment upon which we depend.  Aside from all these benefits, biodiversity has an intrinsic value and it is our ethical responsibility to ensure it is passed on to the next generation.

In Ireland, as accross the globe,  biodiversity is under severe pressure.  A serious national effort is needed by government and by all sectors of society to alter our patterns od destruction and halt the Decline of biodiversity. 

Biodiversity is lost through habitat damage ; through the pollution of water, air, and soil;  through intensive agriculture and inustrial forestry practices; through bad planning, and the drainage of weltlands.  These are some of the more serious threats in Ireland which all of us need to tackle.   

What does the loss of Biodiversity mean to us?

In Ireland 95 bird species are threatened or in seous decline.  120 plant species are endangered.  Ireland's longest living animal, the freshwater pearl mussel, is facing extinction throughout its range in Irish rivers.  Many types of fish are now scarce and population viability poor.  Of Ireland's 18 native bumble bees only one or two are still found flying commonly on farms.  Such reductions in biodiversity in Ireland have serious economic and social consequences. 

Ireland is a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity.  Ireland agreed with the other EU Heads of State in 2001 to “halt” the decline of biodiversity by 2010. Whilst the National Biodiversity Plan sets out a comprehensive programe to achieve this aim, we are falling very short of achieving the aims it sets, mainly due to the lack of political will and failure to fund  many of the actions set out in the plan.   

In order to fulfil our committment to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010, we need concerted action on both local and national levels. We must protect designated sites for nature conservation, such as SACs, SPAs (Natura 2000 sites) and NHAs.  These sites contain special habitats and unique landscapes, and sometimes rare or endangered flora and fauna.  Protection of these sites not only refers to refraining from damaging activities within these sites, but also to protecting the ecosystems within these sites from outside activities that may impact upon them.  Celebration of these biodiversity hotspots throughout the locality is also in important component of protection, with the community taking pride in the presence of special habitats and species, and getting benefit through amenity, tourism, and other forms of sustainable use of these jewels in our natural heritage. 

Protecting our biodiversity is also relevant to the wider landscape.  Undesignated habitats and ecosystems throughout Ireland include meadows, acid and calcareous grasslands, marshes and other wetlands, native and semi-natural woodlands, and hedgerows.

For more about the international Countdown 2010 initiative, Click here