Page 20 - Council Journal Autumn 2019

TFEATURE Biodiversity
Councils Taking Action for
Biodiversity
Dr. Úna FitzPatrick Project co-ordinator with the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan writes for Council Journal on the nature of the scheme and why partnerships with local authorities
he pollination of our crops is a very important ecosystem service we must maintain into the future, both for our food
Launched in late 2015, the All- Ireland Pollinator Plan is a shared plan of action across all sectors – calling for actions on farmland, public land and private land to try to make Ireland a place where pollinators can survive and thrive. The Pollinator Plan makes freely available guidelines on how everyone can help, providing evidence-based actions written specifically for each sector – for gardeners, community groups, businesses, farmers, councils and schools. By making these resources freely available and simply offering the tools and information with which people can help, it has facilitated one of the most successful conservation initiatives this island has seen.
are so valuable.
crops and for our wild plants. It is a biodiversity service that contributes to the Irish economy, to our nutritional and mental health and to our sense of place and our ability to market this island as a ‘green isle’.
Bees are our most important pollinating insects. In Ireland, we have 99 bee species: one honeybee; 21 bumblebees and 77 solitary bee species.
Contrary to popular belief, it is actually our wild bees – our bumblebees and solitary bees (and not their domesticated cousin, the honeybee) that are responsible for most pollination. Since the 1980s, half of our wild bee species have undergone huge declines.
Most Councils/ Local Authorities are already taking actions to support pollinators on public land. Many are also working with local community groups, residents’ associations and schools to help raise awareness of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan. To better support these efforts and to better promote the work being undertaken, in 2019 we developed a framework to recognise Councils as formal partners of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan. It’s easy to sign up! See www.pollinators. ie/councils .
Like humans, bees need food and shelter to survive. They need landscapes with lots of different wildflowers, from which to feed, and safe places to nest, free from pesticides.
Councils can play a leading role in making Ireland more pollinator friendly. The 40-page booklet Councils: actions to help pollinators outlines 30 pollinator-friendly actions Local Authorities can choose from. There are clear instructions for each action, suggestions for where it might be applied, which staff could assist, and a pollinator-friendly planting code, which gives you lots of options for pollinator-friendly planting on streets/parks, in large open spaces or hanging baskets!
Unfortunately, landscape changes in Ireland over the last 50 years have led to the extinction of two bee species and put one-third of our bumblebees under threat of extinction.
Current Council Partners (as of May 2019):
The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan
• Ards and North Down Borough Council
• Dublin City Council
• Dun Laoghaire Rathdown
County Council
• Fingal County Council
• Kilkenny County Council
• Limerick County Council
• Lisburn & Castlereagh City
20 Council Journal
• Partnership with an internationally renowned strategy to reverse declines in biodiversity.
Council
• Tipperary County Council • Waterford City & County
Council
• Wexford County Council
Becoming a partner offers Councils/ a suite of benefits in addition to biodiversity enhancement, including: