Ireland requires €700m annually to restore nature, report

Ireland needs to invest hundreds of millions every year to restore nature and to support farmers, fishers and foresters to protect the environment according to a report from the Independent Advisory Committee on Nature Restoration.

With 90% of protected habitats in an unfavourable conservation condition and Ireland one of the lowest ranked countries in the world for intact biodiversity there is a lot of work to be done on nature restoration, the report says.

The Independent Advisory Committee includes farmers, fishers, academics and environmentalists.

Its report says Ireland currently spends the lowest proportion of GDP of an EU state on nature and needs to spend up to €700m a year to implement European regulations.

The committee has three key recommendations: Fund Nature restoration, restore nature on public lands as a priority and support farmers, fishers and foresters

The report says that these are the people who work most closely with nature and at the moment there are not sufficient financial rewards for them to take the actions that are needed.