What is biodiversity?

What is biodiversity?

Biodiversity means the variety of life on Earth and it is vital to the continued health of our society, economy, species, and planet. Diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems are deteriorating globally at rates unprecedented in human history, which is steadily destroying the essential basis for our health, sustenance, prosperity, and quality of life.

In Ireland we have less than 30% of the peatlands we had in 1900, less than 1% of the active raised bogs, and 31% of habitats are considered to be declining since 2007. The EPA estimates that 1,300 deaths occur annually in Ireland because of the poor quality of the air that we breathe. We lose hedgerows every year and are failing to meet our legal obligations to protect and improve the status of our species and habitats on even the most basic level. The Green Party aims to reverse this trend. We envisage a natural environment that is protected and enhanced for the common good of our and future generations.

The Green Party is working to reverse declines in habitat richness, increase biodiversity and support systemic changes to bring about long-term sustainability for future generations. The health and wellbeing of the biosphere is integral to, and deeply interwoven with, human health and wellbeing. We wish to see Ireland blossom as a country with healthy soils, water and air, supporting a much richer bird, animal, plant and insect life.