About the Plan
One third of our bee species are threatened with extinction from Ireland. We know it’s because we have drastically reduced the areas where they can nest and the amount of food our landscape provides for them. We can stand back and watch the problem happen, or we can try to do something. The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan is about all of us, from farmers to local authorities, to schools, gardeners and businesses, coming together to try to create an Ireland where pollinators can survive and thrive.
The plan provides an important framework to bring together pollinator initiatives from the North and South, and is the start of a process by which we can collectively take positive steps to protect our pollinators and the service they provide into the future. It is a shared plan of action. By working together we can reverse pollinator losses and help restore populations to healthy levels. Over the next five years this Plan aims to build a foundation to bring about a landscape where pollinators can flourish.
The Plan proposes taking specific actions across five objectives. Within each objective, targets have been set and actions have been identified to help achieve that target.
- Making Ireland pollinator friendly (farmland, public land & private land)
- Raising awareness of pollinators and how to protect them
- Managed pollinators – supporting beekeepers and growers
- Expanding our knowledge on pollinators and pollination service
- Collecting evidence to track change and measure success
The Pollinator Plan identifies 81 actions across the five objectives. Sixty-eight governmental and non-governmental organisations have come together to support the Plan. Responsibility for delivering the 81 actions has been shared out between the supporting organisations, who include: Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (formerly DARD, NI), Teagasc, Bord Bia, Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Heritage Council, Fáilte Ireland, An Taisce Green Schools, Federation of Irish Beekeepers’ Associations, Iarnrod Eireann, National Trust, RSPB, Tidy Towns, Transport NI, Ulster Farmers’ Union, Ulster Wildlife, and Waterways Ireland. See our Partners Page for the full list of supporting organisations.
Development of the Plan
The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2015-2020 has been developed by a 15 member all-island steering group, representative of key stakeholders. Steps in the development of the Plan are outlined below:
September 2014-January 2015: The Plan was initiated by Úna FitzPatrick (National Biodiversity Data Centre) and Jane Stout (Trinity College Dublin) and then developed and agreed by the 15 member steering group.
February-March 2015: A draft Plan was made available for consultation. The consultation phase included both public and stakeholder engagement. A total of 70 organisations were invited to comment on the Plan; and submissions were received from 37 members of the public. During this phase a one-day All-Ireland Pollinator Symposium was held in Waterford (17.2.15). This meeting introduced the plan and provided opportunity for public engagement.
April -May 2015: The Plan was revised in light of the consultation phase and a final version agreed by the steering group.
June 2015: All supporting organisations signed off on the final version of the Plan.
July-August 2015: The Plan was designed in anticipation of a launch in September 2015.
On behalf of the steering group, we would like to sincerely thank all those who have engaged with the Pollinator Plan to date. We have been overwhelmed by the support and good will it has generated.