Policy Context of Local Biodiversity Action Plans
Dungannon and South Tyrone Local Biodiversity Action Plan
Policy Context of Local Biodiversity Action Plans
Convention on Biological Diversity
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, (Commonly referred to as the Rio Earth Summit), gathered together nearly 200 world leaders to address global concerns about the environment and loss of biodiversity. Over 150 countries including the UK and Ireland, signed the Convention on Biological Diversity. By signing the treaty, these governments pledged to help stop the global loss of habitats, species and genetic resources by conserving and enhancing the biodiversity within their respective countries. More specifically, it called for the creation and enforcement of national strategies and action plans to conserve, protect and enhance biodiversity. The treaty entered into force on 29 December 1993 and it was the first treaty to provide a legal framework for biodiversity conservation.
The UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP) and Northern Ireland Biodiversity Strategy
As a response to the Biodiversity Convention, the UK Government produced a report ‘Biodiversity: The UK Action Plan 1994’. The overall goal of this plan is to conserve and enhance biological diversity within the UK and to contribute to the conservation of global biodiversity through all appropriate mechanisms. The overarching aim of this document is to halt biodiversity loss in the UK by 2010. As a result of the UK Action Plan, the UK Biodiversity Steering Group was set up and produced ‘Biodiversity: The UK Steering Group Report (1995)’. This report detailed a series of actions which should be implemented in order to ensure that the objectives of the UK Action Plan are achieved.
In Northern Ireland a Biodiversity Group, (NIBG), was established in 1996 to oversee the development of a biodiversity strategy for Northern Ireland. Consequently, the Northern Ireland Biodiversity Strategy was published in 2000. It is intended to inform policy and promote action on biodiversity conservation in Northern Ireland by:
- Describing the main features of biodiversity in Northern Ireland.
- Identifying the main issues affecting biodiversity, including institutional, political and legal issues.
- Proposing measures to support the conservation of biodiversity for the period 2001 – 2016.
This document forms the blueprint for conserving and improving biodiversity in Northern Ireland. The strategy contains 76 recommendations for the conservation of biodiversity in Northern Ireland. Successful implementation of the Northern Ireland Biodiversity Strategy requires some means of ensuring that this strategy is translated into effective action at the local level. Local Biodiversity Action Plans are seen as the means by which this can be achieved.
