RSPB NI calls on DAERA to revise Nature Recovery Strategy and provide one with the ambition that nature requires
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has published the draft Nature Recovery Strategy for consultation. After calling for this Strategy for 5 years, leading conservation charity, RSPB NI, is disappointed that the proposals don’t guarantee the ambitious action needed to ensure nature will be restored.
Published: 21 January 2026
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has published the draft Nature Recovery Strategy for consultation. After calling for this Strategy for 5 years, leading conservation charity, RSPB NI, is disappointed that the proposals don’t guarantee the ambitious action needed to ensure nature will be restored.
The Strategy was due to be an important step forward for nature in Northern Ireland, which has been ranked as 12th worst region in the world for biodiversity loss. It was set to outline a clear and credible path for meeting internationally agreed targets agreed at COP 15, which all UK countries are working towards. This includes “30by30”, which is the conserving and management of 30% of land, freshwater, and sea for nature by 2030.
However, the draft Strategy does not provide the clear and decisive action that in totality will deliver nature recovery at the pace and scale urgently needed.
This long-awaited draft strategy is more than five years overdue. With only four years until 2030, the conservation charity has expressed deep concern about the Department's ability to halt the decline of wildlife in Northern Ireland and meet the crucial '30by30' target.
Joanne Sherwood, RSPB NI Director said,
We welcome the Minister’s high ambition for nature recovery, but we are really disappointed that this is not matched by the totality of the Strategy actions. A healthy, nature-rich environment is essential to underpinning our economy, our society and our existence, and it is in crisis. The time for plans about undertaking yet more consultations has passed. We need clear, bold and actionable commitments from Government, backed by evidence and funding, not plans about plans. That’s why we will be calling for DAERA to significantly strengthen the Strategy, setting out how it will be implemented and monitored to ensure it meets the real ambition that the Minister himself acknowledges nature urgently needs.”
Recalling that over 80% of targets set in the previous Biodiversity Strategy (2015-2020) were not achieved, with little to no consequence, the charity points out that, unlike the rest of the UK and Ireland, Northern Ireland lags far behind in developing a legally binding framework for setting nature recovery targets.
The RSPB NI Director also noted that the environmental sector has been and will continue to play its part.
The Strategy points to RSPB NI-led projects in the Antrim Hills, Lough Erne and Rathlin Island as examples of how nature restoration can be successful. DAERA knows what works, but they have not committed to replicating this across Northern Ireland within the new Strategy’s targets and actions. This gap between recognition and action undermines confidence that the Strategy will deliver what nature needs.”
The RSPB has been operating in Northern Ireland for 60 years to inspire a world richer in nature. It works with partners and local communities to help birds, wildlife and natural places survive and thrive. It is an important voice for nature with over 13,000 members, 500 volunteers and a reserve network.