Ireland’s 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan 2023–2030

Ireland’s 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP) sets the national biodiversity agenda for the period 2023-2030 and aims to deliver the transformative changes required to the ways in which we value and protect nature. The 4th NBAP has been developed with the support, advice and input of the interdepartmental Biodiversity Working Group and the independent Biodiversity Forum. Ireland’s 2nd National Biodiversity Conference was held to gather insights and recommendations for the development of the NBAP and a public consultation process was held to provide further opportunities to engage with the Plan.

The 4th NBAP strives for a “whole of government, whole of society” approach to the governance and conservation of biodiversity. The aim is to ensure that every citizen, community, business, local authority, semi-state and state agency has an awareness of biodiversity and its importance, and of the implications of its loss, while also understanding how they can act to address the biodiversity emergency as part of a renewed national effort to “act for nature”.

This National Biodiversity Action Plan 2023-2030 builds upon the achievements of the previous Plan.

It will continue to implement actions within the framework of five strategic objectives, while addressing new and emerging issues:

• Objective 1 - Adopt a Whole of Government, Whole of Society Approach to Biodiversity
• Objective 2 - Meet Urgent Conservation and Restoration Needs
• Objective 3 - Secure Nature’s Contribution to People
• Objective 4 - Enhance the Evidence Base for Action on Biodiversity
• Objective 5 - Strengthen Ireland’s Contribution to International Biodiversity Initiatives

Public Consultation on Ireland’s 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan

The Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2023 introduced a new public sector duty on biodiversity. The legislation provides that every public body, as listed in the Act, is obliged to have regard to the objectives and targets in the National Biodiversity Action Plan. See the NPWS website for further details.

Recent wildlife legislation requires listed public and state bodies to incorporate biodiversity considerations into their operations and report on their progress. Biodiversity Duty Reporting Guidance for Public Bodies provides practical guidance on incorporating biodiversity into work programmes and on reporting obligations.

The first Implementation Report of the National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP) was developed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, with the support of the interdepartmental Biodiversity Working Group (BWG). The Plan requires each entity responsible for actions to submit an annual progress update. Under the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2023, public bodies must also report annually on the actions they take for biodiversity.

A summary dashboard of NBAP action updates is published on the National Biodiversity Data Centre website

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the National Biodiversity Data Centre developed an online survey to allow public bodies to fulfil their reporting obligations for the National Biodiversity Action Plan. Public bodies submitted information relating to actions taken for biodiversity, which informs the first implementation report of Ireland’s fourth NBAP. The closing date for public bodies to make a submission was April 30th 2025. This spreadsheet contains a summary of the answers provided to Section 2 - Q1 & Q2 of that survey.