The Government needs to introduce a new fund which will pay farmers and landowners to restore nature, an independent report has recommended.
The recommendation is one of a number that are contained in the report which has been sent to the Minister of State for heritage Christopher O’Sullivan.
The report will help inform Ireland’s nature restoration plan.
A fund for nature is one of the main priorities recommended, chair of the independent advisory committee on nature restoration Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin told the Irish Farmers Journal.
“This would be a pot of money that is external and additional to CAP [and other funding streams],” she said.
“There will be new obligations within the nature restoration law and they need to be met with extra payments,” she said.
Ní Shúilleabháin said that farmers, fishers and foresters who voluntarily provide ecosystem services under the plan, such as actions to increase pollinators, planting more trees or voluntary rewetting, should be paid for such actions.
Christopher O' Sullivan, Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. \ Donal O' Leary
“Money needs to go to food producers and foresters to acknowledge public services,” she said.
Ní Shúilleabháin said that if farmers and private landowners are being asked to restore nature on their land, then they “have to be paid for it”.
“We have to incentivise private landowners,” she said.
When asked how the pot of money would be funded, she said it was for Government to decide.
“Any financial modelling that has been done on this shows that the benefits far outweigh the costs for nature and society,” she added.
State land
Another priority is for the Government to lead out on nature restoration on State land. Historically, she said that Government has asked private landowners to carry out actions on their land.
However, she said that the State is obligated to carry out actions under the nature restoration law and, therefore, it should lead out on such measures.
She noted that the State’s land banks could provide spaces to demonstrate best practice in nature restoration and to provide training for people involved in restoration.
The chair also said that there are a number of additional recommendations in the report that was sent to the Minister, including recommendations on education and empowering the public. She said that the measures are not just rural based, but also look at urban ecosystems.
Additional recommendations also focus on Gaeltacht areas and islands and the roles the Irish language and culture play in nature.
The Government needs to introduce a new fund which will pay farmers and landowners to restore nature, an independent report has recommended.
The recommendation is one of a number that are contained in the report which has been sent to the Minister of State for heritage Christopher O’Sullivan.
The report will help inform Ireland’s nature restoration plan.
A fund for nature is one of the main priorities recommended, chair of the independent advisory committee on nature restoration Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin told the Irish Farmers Journal.
“This would be a pot of money that is external and additional to CAP [and other funding streams],” she said.
“There will be new obligations within the nature restoration law and they need to be met with extra payments,” she said.
Ní Shúilleabháin said that farmers, fishers and foresters who voluntarily provide ecosystem services under the plan, such as actions to increase pollinators, planting more trees or voluntary rewetting, should be paid for such actions.
Christopher O' Sullivan, Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. \ Donal O' Leary
“Money needs to go to food producers and foresters to acknowledge public services,” she said.
Ní Shúilleabháin said that if farmers and private landowners are being asked to restore nature on their land, then they “have to be paid for it”.
“We have to incentivise private landowners,” she said.
When asked how the pot of money would be funded, she said it was for Government to decide.
“Any financial modelling that has been done on this shows that the benefits far outweigh the costs for nature and society,” she added.
State land
Another priority is for the Government to lead out on nature restoration on State land. Historically, she said that Government has asked private landowners to carry out actions on their land.
However, she said that the State is obligated to carry out actions under the nature restoration law and, therefore, it should lead out on such measures.
She noted that the State’s land banks could provide spaces to demonstrate best practice in nature restoration and to provide training for people involved in restoration.
The chair also said that there are a number of additional recommendations in the report that was sent to the Minister, including recommendations on education and empowering the public. She said that the measures are not just rural based, but also look at urban ecosystems.
Additional recommendations also focus on Gaeltacht areas and islands and the roles the Irish language and culture play in nature.
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