Biodiversity

Tackling the biodiversity emergency

There is now widespread recognition that biodiversity loss has enormous consequences for economies, societies and the environment

Nature is our most critical infrastructure but it is being positioned as a hindrance

Government should not only reserve legal designation for fast-tracking built projects but should extend it to nature too

Documentary maker Eoin Warner: ‘As a child I realised I had been gifted this thing by nature’

Since his breakout TV show Éire Fhiáin in 2017, Warner has presented shows in Irish and English, winning awards and acclaim

Release of non-native skunks in Co Kildare being investigated

The last animal was humanely caught and culled in late April after video evidence showed one in bog near Newbridge

As wildfires ravage Irish uplands, has work even begun on the promised national plan?

Wildfire risk management strategies should be prioritised

Ireland’s hoverfly, crucial to food production, faces significant threats

Queen’s University Belfast study underscores the role the insects play in supporting food security

‘Nature needs all the help it can get’: projects aim to re-establish oyster reefs

Overharvesting, pollution and harsh winters all contributed to the decline of oysters in Ireland

From a dump to a national park to housing: how plans for Liffey Valley Park have changed over the years

The future of this green gateway at the western edge of Dublin city, stretching from Chapelizod to Lucan, remains in doubt

Coillte ordered to stop felling at forest over fears for oak trees

Department of Agriculture issues order to cease work to allow investigation of felling licence

‘Sting suits’ bought and warnings issued as jellyfish ‘bloom’ in coastal waters

Swimmers in Seapoint, Dublin, are ‘well used’ to stings but some now use ‘sting suits’

‘The deer are the elephant in the room’: Is a Phoenix Park cull the best way forward?

As beloved as the deer are, conservation and biodiversity require us to look at the bigger picture, argues one nature advocacy officer

The Curragh is full of natural treasures. It needs safeguarding

The need for conservation measures on the Co Kildare plains has been recognised for 30 years

The low budget pollinator project that grew wings and created real change

Low-budget, highly ambitious project to restore populations of critical insects fast became a top nature-positive initiative

‘I was in my garden with my camera when three crows started to attack a buzzard’

Your wildlife notes and queries for Éanna Ní Lamhna

‘Structured messiness’: How a pilot project brought four housing schemes back to nature

Fingal’s biodiversity officer says planting blackberry brambles starts a chain reaction that benefits wildlife and the entire community

Cross-Border commitment crucial in nursing Ireland’s ailing lakes back to health

In the Republic, there has been unrelenting deterioration of lakes, rivers and estuaries

A look at Dublin Bay’s ‘completely unique’ biosphere

In 2015, Unesco extended the reserve to the entirety of Dublin Bay, including Ireland’s Eye, which has 9,000 pairs of breeding seabirds across 11 different species

Ireland needs stronger deterrents against deliberately starting wildfires, ecologist says

Government must commit in next budget to adequately funding nature restoration, Pádraic Fogarty says

Looking after our hedgerows will look after our farms, nature and climate

Older farmers tell of regrets at being encouraged to remove hedgerows under misguided policies

Nature’s climate controllers help city-dwellers cope with rising heat

Trees ‘sweat’ so that people don’t have to

A devastating disease is spreading among Irish songbirds

Songbirds hit by a contagious infection are being found dead on bird tables and in gardens after last-gasp efforts to feed

In pictures: Biodiversity Photographer of the Year winners 2026

All the winning images from this years Biodiversity Photographer of the Year competition

Ireland’s Greenest Places: Why we want to salute Net Zero Heroes

As the deadline to nominate people and places in the second Ireland’s Greenest Places competition approaches, we take a look at some of those already in the running

‘There would be no life on Earth without plants ... We need to keep reminding ourselves of that’

Noeleen Smyth is the first female director of the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland

Pollution has led to huge drop in salmon and trout numbers in Ireland, Oireachtas to hear

‘Salmonids’ decline serves as a warning that wider ecological deterioration is occurring,’ Angling Council of Ireland says

Ireland’s Greenest Places: Community is the catalyst that can create change

Shining a light on people working together to protect and restore our natural enviromnent is a key function of this year’s competition

Hare coursing should not need to be debated, just ended

If ever there was a case for a conscience vote in the Dáil, this is it

The source of much of our ecocide is ironic: food production

We create food to sustain us, while systematically destroying the environment that sustains us

Hedgerow biodiversity is under threat from Ireland’s heavy-handed policy approach

Current practices and policies are having a profoundly negative impact

Humans, not cats, have systematically destroyed habitats and damaged the environment

Wildlife conservation deserves serious debate, not convenient scapegoats

Rules must accommodate nature while building 50,000 homes a year

Plans for 300,000 housing units by 2030 could be hugely destructive to biodiversity. Supporting long-term ecological resilience is critical

‘Kill quickly and cleanly’: How culling can help manage Ireland’s rising deer population

Reintroducing wolves and promoting venison are among other suggested ways of achieving deer prudence

Ireland’s wild bird biodiversity crisis is not down to our island status

Populations are not inherently small-scale; we have made them so

Gaza teenage sisters win award for turning rubble into reusable bricks

Donegal student gets recognition for biodegradable plastic that breaks down safely

Ireland’s mayflies are ancient creatures - older than dinosaurs by 80 million years

Ella McSweeney: In Ireland, we have about 150 species of mayflies

Bureau to tackle invasive species set up in Waterford

New strategy for managing any future occurrence of Asian hornet in Ireland also established

Members distance themselves from engineer body’s call to burn coal for electricity

Irish Academy of Engineering’s recommendations ‘not wise’, according to member and Trinity College provost

National Biodiversity Week offers 300 events outside, online and in armchairs

The annual focus on nature has workshops, talks, walks and exhibitions taking place across the country

Underfoot and overlooked: addressing our ‘broken relationship’ with soil

Dr Tancredi Caruso is associate professor in UCD’s School of Biology and Environmental Science and UCD’s Earth Institute

‘TY changed my life’: Leaving Cert student wins global prize for microplastics ‘filter’

Co Donegal student Arya Satheesh (18) developed research interest in science after her Junior Cert

Ireland is trying to fund environmental protection on the cheap

Nature restoration isn’t a luxury. It’s one of the highest-return investments available to the State

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