Aiming for the right targets for nature’s recovery

When Northern Ireland’s first Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) was published last September there was hope that we might receive a long overdue roadmap for nature’s recovery. It came at a critical time for nature, as the recent State of Nature report demonstrated that Northern Ireland is one of the most nature-depleted regions in the world and the situation is only getting worse. The report revealed that 12% of species on the island of Ireland are at risk of extinction. Elsewhere, research showed that a quarter of our birds are now red listed, meaning that they are the highest category of conservation concern. 

Although the Plan showed the Department of Agriculture,  Environment and Rural Affairs’ (DAERA) ambition and included pledges to create tens of thousands of hectares of nature rich habitat, deadlines to improve the condition of designated sites, and timeframes for a raft of badly needed conservation strategies, something was missing: legally binding targets. 

Targets written in plans and strategies are simply words on a page unless they have a legally binding framework to ensure they are met. We only need to recall that the Executive failed to meet over 80% of targets in the last Biodiversity Strategy. Nature cannot afford these mistakes again. 

This is why RSPB NI has welcomed the proposed Environment and Nature Restoration Bill. In the absence of a legally binding environmental targets framework from the Executive, this Private Members’ Bill will, if passed into law, grant nature the certainty that it needs. It will also bring into law a target on air quality to protect human health and additional environmental principles that must be followed by public bodies. 

Legally binding targets can be transformative if they are designed well and enforced properly, prompting regulatory change and better policy design, leading to future Executives prioritising adequate funding for nature's recovery. At present legally binding targets don’t exist for critical areas such as biodiversity and have expired for other areas such as air quality. Environmental legislation in Northern Ireland urgently needs to get on track and stay on track. A legally binding framework for setting and objectively testing targets is essential to doing this. 

However, the introduction of the Bill is only the first step in a complex journey through the Assembly and there are no guarantees that it will pass into law. That is why we are encouraging everyone to show their support for the passage of this Bill.