Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

184 Chapter 7: Nature These zones are targeted specifically at high-nature-value farmland dominated by semi-natural vegetation, Natura 2000 sites and priority water catchments with high water quality. ACRES incorporates landscape and catchment considerations into a results-based agri-environmental approach for these zones. The cooperation project teams are fully funded by the DAFM, ensuring no cost to the farmer and delivering income support for up to 50,000 farm families. The scheme uses results-based incentives through measurable on-farm actions (e.g. planting trees and hedgerows, establishing winter food crops for birds, and creating and enhancing riparian buffer strips along streams and rivers) to address biodiversity decline while also supporting farm families. Peatlands Climate Action Scheme The Peatlands Climate Action Scheme 31 (also known as the Enhanced Decommissioning Restoration and Rehabilitation Scheme, or EDRSS) encompasses the restoration and rehabilitation of approximately 33,000 ha of Bord na Móna peatlands that were previously harvested to generate electricity. Through the project, and the associated Peatlands and People LIFE Project 32 , Bord na Móna is reassigning employees from harvesting operations into rehabilitation to support the natural environment and biodiversity of the peatlands. To date, approximately 17,000 ha have been rehabilitated across 54 bogs. The scheme is funded by €108 million from the EU National Recovery and Resilience Plan, administered by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, regulated by the NPWS and operated by Bord na Móna. Business for Biodiversity Ireland Launched in 2022, the Business for Biodiversity Ireland platform 33 is a not-for-profit organisation established to guide and educate Irish businesses about their impacts on the natural world and enable them to assess their impacts and dependencies on nature by developing meaningful biodiversity strategies. Some of the services offered by the platform include increasing understanding of biodiversity through educational webinars, facilitating networking and collaboration among participating companies, educating member companies about national policy on biodiversity and identifying nature- based solutions to address climate change and biodiversity loss. 31 www.bnmpcas.ie (accessed 4 April 2024). 32 peatlandsandpeople.ie (accessed 17 September 2024). 33 businessforbiodiversity.ie (accessed 4 April 2024). 34 biodiversityireland.ie (accessed 4 April 2024). 35 maps.biodiversityireland.ie/ (accessed 10 April 2024). 36 www.gov.ie/dafm (accessed 4 April 2024). National Biodiversity Data Centre In December 2022, the NBDC 34 was established as a company limited by guarantee by the government, placing it on a more secure footing. The NBDC, first established in 2007, has been at the forefront of many positive initiatives in relation to biodiversity in Ireland for 17 years. The centre has a wide remit, primarily collating and making data publicly available, but also producing informative and educational resources. This enables the NBDC to support national initiatives to maintain and enhance biodiversity, including recording species associated with Ireland’s terrestrial, freshwater, marine, river and wetland environments. The NBDC currently manages nearly 6.5 million records of nearly 18,000 different species across 177 different data sets. 35 Citizen science and conservation initiatives coordinated by the NBDC include structured monitoring schemes such as the National Pollinator Monitoring Scheme, the Butterfly and Bumblebee Monitoring Schemes, Dragonfly Ireland 2019-2024, Explore Your Shore! and Rare Plant Monitoring Scheme. Forestry Programme Ireland’s Shared National Vision for Trees, Woods and Forests until 2050 calls for the right trees in the right places for the right reasons with the right management. Ireland’s Forest Strategy to 2030 describes how the 2050 vision will be made a reality, and the Forestry Programme 2023-2027 is the first step in implementing the vision. The Forestry Programme has been designed to make a significant contribution to Ireland’s biodiversity objectives. The programme will facilitate the creation of new forest habitats at scale, with generous incentives for farmers and public bodies to plant mixed native woodlands on suitable land, and also 20-year payments for farmers to retain and promote emergent woodland on their land. For existing forest owners, measures under the Forestry Programme such as the Native Woodland Conservation Scheme, the Woodland Improvement Scheme and other sustainable forest management practices will be invaluable in protecting and enhancing biodiversity across our landscape. 36