NEW HORIZONS

NATURE

for

The National Biodiversity Conference

20th & 21st February 2019 | Dublin Castle

Download the interactive Conference Report

Report

ABOUT

WE ARE LOSING GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY AT A RATE UNPRECEDENTED IN HUMAN HISTORY. IN IRELAND, MANY OF OUR PROTECTED HABITATS ARE IN POOR CONDITION AND 14% OF ASSESSED SPECIES ARE THOUGHT TO BE ENDANGERED. THE NUMBER OF PLANTS, INSECTS, MAMMALS AND BIRDS THAT ARE THREATENED OR ENDANGERED IS GROWING YEAR-ON-YEAR.

THIS MATTERS FOR PEOPLE AS WELL AS THE PLANET. AS THE WEB OF LIFE BREAKS APART, THE NATURAL SYSTEMS THAT GIVE US FOOD TO EAT, AIR TO BREATHE AND WATER TO DRINK ARE INCREASINGLY VULNERABLE. IS THAT SOMETHING WE ARE PREPARED TO ACCEPT?

IT'S TIME FOR A NEW APPROACH AND A NEW UNDERSTANDING. THAT'S WHY WE'RE BRINGING ACADEMICS, ARTISTS, BUSINESSES, COMMUNITY GROUPS, CONSERVATIONISTS, ECOLOGISTS, FARMERS, FISHERS, FORESTERS, GOVERNMENT, LANDOWNERS, LOCAL AUTHORITIES, NGOS, POLITICIANS, SCIENTISTS AND STATE AGENCIES TOGETHER TO DISCUSS THE CHALLENGES, EXPLORE THE SOLUTIONS AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO WORK TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE OUR COMMON GOAL OF REVERSING BIODIVERSITY LOSS AND IMPLEMENTING THE NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY ACTION PLAN 2017 - 2021.

JOIN US.

Speakers

More to be announced

Dr James Moran

James is a lecturer in Ecology and Biology at Galway Mayo Institute of Technology teaching on agriculture and environment related programmes. His research and outreach work concentrates on sustainable agricultural systems. Research areas include rural development, agri-environmental scheme design; High Nature Value farmland; biodiversity and ecosystem services; protected areas management; grazing ecology and wetland ecosystems. He is particularly interested in the potential of innovative local communities working in partnership to realise a sustainable future for their area

Flor McCarthy

Flor McCarthy is the Chairman of the IFA National Hill Farming Committee. He is a Hill sheep and beef farmer from Kenmare Co. Kerry. Part of his farm is on Carrauntoohil and he has participated in Agri-Environmental schemes since the mid 90’s. He has a long involvement in IFA having been Chairman of the National Rural Development Committee and Kerry County Chairman. He has also been a member of the EU Rural Development Civil dialogue group in Brussels representing Irish farmers through COPA the European umbrella body for farm organisations.

Prof Mel Austen

Mel is a Head of Science at Plymouth Marine Laboratory leading the interdisciplinary Sea and Society research area and a portfolio of UK, EU and international marine research projects . She is a member of the UK Government’s Natural Capital Committee; its Joint Nature Conservation Committee; and was Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK’s Marine Management Organisation (2010-2013). She has published more than 100 peer reviewed research papers.

Dr Caroline Sullivan

Caroline has over 10 years experience working on High Nature Value (HNV) farmland in Europe and Ireland including mapping and describing HNV farmland for the Department of Agriculture. She is currently the Assistant Manager for the Hen Harrier Project, delivering a locally targeted conservation programme and building strong partnerships with farmers to deliver sustainable benefits for biodiversity, upland ecosystems and a vibrant local rural economy.

Bernard McKay

Bernard is a farmer and environmental consultant from the Glens of Antrim. He farms 70ha of hill land that he began managing after leaving university in 1986. His farming and consultancy roles lead to an appreciation of biodiversity and the importance of active farming to its survival. However, his farm is run as a business and always focuses on the most efficient and financially beneficial management options available.

Dr Patrick McGurn

Patrick works with Caomhnú Árann, a conservation project on the Aran Islands, a follow on from the AranLIFE project, a 5 year LIFE farming conservation project. He graduated in Agriculture from Queen's University Belfast and worked in the agriculture advisory services for Department of Agriculture in Northern Ireland. Working with farmers in Fermanagh led to an interest in semi-natural grasslands, and he completed PhD in grassland ecology with the University of Ulster.

Bernadette Phelan

Bernadette is a senior executive in corporate responsibility & sustainability practice, and has worked on regional, national and EU programmes at leading public and non-profit organisations. Currently she sits on the Management Team of BITCI, the leading Irish network for responsible business. In BITCI, she leads and designs their corporate advisory services in responsible and sustainable business; presently the business network engages with over 80 of Ireland's largest companies, including Intel, Microsoft, Glanbia, Diageo, CRH, ESB and Accenture, among others.

Nathy Gilligan

Nathy has worked in the environmental management of flood relief and river works for the last 15years and is currently Head of Environment for OPW, where he guides implementation for a wide range of environmental requirements across OPW’s flood risk management activities. With OPW being the lead statutory authority for flood risk management in Ireland, Nathy has completed a placement with the European Commission and assists development of relevant environmental policy through multiple national environmental working groups.

Mary Kelly-Quinn

Associate Professor Mary Kelly-Quinn is a freshwater ecologist and lecturer in University College Dublin where her research is focused on the impacts of land-use and other anthropogenic activities and interventions (e.g. barriers and mitigation measures) on water quality in Irish rivers, their biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and maintenance of ecosystem services. She has completed studies on the aquatic habitats of agricultural, urban and forested catchments, as well as reviews on the distribution of a number of key freshwater invertebrate groups

Sheevaun Thompson

Sheevaun is Funding Lead with the Local Authority Waters Programme based in the Head Office in Clonmel, County Tipperary. She has several years of experience gained applying for and delivering on EU funded projects from across a wide spectrum of funding streams from previous employment with Tipperary County Council and the South-East Regional Authority. Sheevaun holds a BA in Public Administration, a Grad Dip in Business Administration, and an MA in Public Management.

Dr Andy Bleasdale

Andy works in the Scientific Unit of the National Parks and Wildlife Service and he has had a long involvement in schemes, measures and initiatives designed to deliver improved management on the ground. He has a particular interest in working in partnership with the farming community and other stakeholders to address conservation challenges through projects such as LIFE, INTERREG and European Innovation Partnerships.

Dr Andrew Jackson

Andrew is an Assistant Professor of Law at University College Dublin, specialising in environmental and planning law. Andrew previously worked for the law firm Slaughter and May, in London and Paris; for the UK government's legal service, in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), where he advised on nature conservation law; and with NGOs Friends of the Irish Environment and An Taisce, the National Trust for Ireland, where he was Natural Environment Officer and In-house Solicitor. Andrew has been involved in public interest environmental and planning litigation for many years, including before the Irish, English and EU courts. He is a graduate of Oxford University (BA, Law) and of Cambridge University (LLM). He also holds an MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and a PhD from TCD on EU environmental policy and law. Andrew's recent work includes the book "Conserving Europe's Wildlife: Law and Policy of the Natura 2000 Network of Protected Areas", published by Routledge in 2018.

Tina Aughney

Tina is a consultant ecologist specialising in bats and bat ecology. She manages national and all-island monitoring programmes on behalf of Bat Conservation Ireland for the NPWS in the Republic of Ireland and NIEA in Northern Ireland. She was awarded “Distinguished Recorder of the Year, 2011” by the National Biodiversity Data Centre and she is a co-author of the publication on bats in Ireland titled “Irish Bats in the 21st Century”. She is also a contributing author for the publication “Atlas of Mammals in Ireland 2010-2015”.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SCHEDULE

SCHEDULE

Download the interactive PDF or use the links below to explore the conference schedule.

Each Parallel Session is arranged under three themes:

Engagement: Learning from Conservation Success

Planning for the Future

Investing in Nature

Day 1

Day 2

Drinks Reception

9am

11am

12.15pm

2.30pm

4pm

5.30pm

End

ORGANISERS

The Department of Culture, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht is the statutory body for nature conservation in Ireland. The National Parks and Wildlife Service, part of the Department, works to conserve a representative range of Irish ecosystems, to maintain and enhance populations of flora and fauna in Ireland, to designate and advise on the protection of habitats and species identified for nature conservation, to implement national and EU legislation and policies for nature conservation and biodiversity, to manage, maintain and develop State-owned National Parks and Nature Reserves, and to promote awareness of natural heritage and biodiversity issues.

The Irish Forum on Natural Capital brings together a diverse range of organisations and individuals from academic, public, private and NGO sectors who are interested in the development and application of the natural capital agenda in Ireland. Through the collaboration and leadership of our diverse members, our aim is to help to value, protect and restore Ireland’s natural capital and ecosystem services by supporting the adoption of natural capital concepts in public policy and corporate strategy, promoting informed public and private sector decision-making and assisting in the establishment of a national natural capital accounting standard.

Conference Report

We've developed an interactive conference report that we hope will be a useful reference tool for everyone. It features all the videos from the event, synopses of the talks, key quotes, resources and facts, as well as information on the event's impact and legacy. Download your copy below!

COVER National Biodiversity Conference R

National Biodiversity Conference Report

NEW HORIZONS

NATURE

for

The National Biodiversity Conference

20th & 21st February 2019 | Dublin Castle

Download the interactive Conference Report