Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

125 Chapter 5: Land Table 5.3  High-level review of the main policies, strategies and legislation that influence land use Policy/strategy/ legislation Explicit conservation target (conserves or limits a land use) Explicit expansion target (will use more land) Possible consequential impact (the target is not explicit but could result in a land use change) ECOSYSTEMS EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 (May 2020) Carbon-rich ecosystems should be protected Stop the loss of green urban areas and implement urban greening plans Set up ecological corridors Increase the quantity, quality and resilience of forests Increase in protected areas for habitats and species, with an emphasis on high nature value areas Bord na Móna’s Enhanced Decommissioning, Rehabilitation and Restoration Scheme 2021–2026 (November 2020) Rehabilitate 33,000 ha of post-production peatlands N/A N/A EU Nature Restoration Law (June 2024) No net loss in the total national area of urban green space and of urban tree canopy cover in urban ecosystem areas compared with 2021. After 2030 the areas must increase, with progress measured every 6 years through a national restoration plan N/A EU countries must restore at least 30% of Annex 1 habitat areas in poor condition by 2030, 60% by 2040 and 90% by 2050 EU Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan 2023–2027 (January 2023) Protect wetland and peatland areas National ratio of permanent grassland to agricultural area should not decrease by more than 5% compared with 2018 N/A Minimum of 4% of agricultural area devoted to space for nature Food Vision 2030 (August 2021) N/A N/A By 2030, 10% of Ireland’s farmed area will be prioritised for biodiversity, spread across all farms throughout the country Sectoral climate adaptation plans: biodiversity (November 2019) N/A N/A Design corridors to enhance the resilience of protected areas and increase opportunities for dispersal across the landscape National Biodiversity Action Plan (January 2024) Tackle Invasive Alien Species and expand protected area network N/A Increase in protected areas