As we look to the future we can look to an initiative of the recent past that is playing a very real role in the shaping of that future, by addressing or indeed redressing the very real concerns of biodiversity loss and knock-on reductions in pollinator numbers.
The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, 2015-2020, has motivated and inspired groups and people the length and breadth of the country to undertake actions in their locality to improve conditions for nature to thrive and a publication remarking on some of these success stories, titled Working Together for Biodiversity: Tales from the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2015-2020 has just been published.
February 15, 2021 2:03 pm
Pollinators are in decline, with one-third of our 98 wild bee species threatened with extinction from the island of Ireland.
According to the report ‘Working together for biodiversity: Tales from the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2015-2020’, the problem is “serious and requires immediate attention to ensure the sustainability of our food, avoid additional economic impact on the agricultural sector and protect the health of the environment”.
The recently-published reflective report looks at the role farmers have in increasing biodiversity and ensuring pollinator-friendly landscapes.
Farmland
The report notes that with around 65% of Ireland’s landscape being agricultural land, the long-term success of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan “hinges on making farms more biodiversity-friendly”.
Peter Dowdall: How to make life sweet for bees in your garden
Choose pollen-rich flowers to provide much-needed food for bumblebees and other insects and add colour to your garden
One-third of our 99 bee species are at risk of extinction. Picture: iStock
Sun, 14 Feb, 2021 - 15:30
Peter Dowdall
It s that fabulous time of the year when we begin to see growth emerge from the energy beneath the surface once more. The seemingly delicate and tender snowdrops and crocuses have battled through frozen ground to open-up in glorious, colourful bloom.
Soon, that annual switch will go off in each one of us which sends us longing for the outdoors once more, a longing which is exacerbated this year for obvious reasons of lockdown.
Minister Pippa Hackett announces support for Farmland Pollinator Officer
The Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, with responsibility for Land Use and Biodiversity, Senator Pippa Hackett, today announced support for the All-Ireland Pollinator plan through the provision of funding for a Farmland Pollinator officer.
Making the announcement, the Minister stated, “I am delighted to be providing the financial resources for this important post. The Farmland Pollinator Officer will be based at the National Biodiversity Data Centre and will play a vital role in helping all of us, from local authorities to schools, gardeners and businesses, but particularly farmers, to work together to try to create an Ireland where pollinators can not only survive, but thrive. Pollinators play a key role in a healthy ecosystem, and taking action to protect and enhance them will benefit biodiversity, and also provide a vehicle for direct engagement w