Donegal to get its first biodiversity officer before the end of this year

Donegal County Council has been awarded funding to appoint a biodiversity officer to drive local action for biodiversity conservation.

It is expected the new position will be filled by September 2023 while a full national rollout is expected to be completed within the next two years. 

The announcement today follows a commitment in the Programme for Government to tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis, following the Dáil’s declaration of a Biodiversity Emergency in 2019, and the Citizens Assembly on Biodiversity Loss in 2022. 

In addition to developing a Biodiversity Plan for their area, the new biodiversity officer will advise the council on biodiversity-related issues and its obligations in relation to protecting biodiversity.

The new officer will help to fully integrate biodiversity conservation into all of their policies, plans and actions, through training and the provision of expert advice.

Commenting on the development, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, TD, said:

“Biodiversity experts are exactly the people we need at the local authority level to engage local communities and to take practical action to conserve and restore wildlife species and habitats.”

Chairperson of The Heritage Council, Dr Martina Moloney, said they were prioritising a community-based approach to biodiversity and habitat restoration.

"The blend of local knowledge and evidence-based science has been very effective in the design and delivery of local heritage plans, and will ensure that local action for biodiversity will focus on the drivers of biodiversity loss, local priority species and habitats, and policies and actions at the local level to halt and reverse biodiversity loss,” she said.