Vol. 484 No. 3
285 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands if conservation of Ireland's natural resources has equal status with commercial production from our natural resources following the ratification of the Convention on Biodiversity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21815/97]
The Deputy will be aware that as part of Ireland's commitment to the implementation of the EU Habitats and Birds Directives, a process is ongoing of designating our most important natural heritage sites as special areas of conservation and special protection areas. Within these sites, the conservation of the ecological interest must be safeguarded as a priority. Such protection does not necessarily exclude all other activities on the sites, including activities relating to commercial production based on natural resources. However, any such activities must be undertaken in a manner which does not adversely affect the ecological interest of the sites, the conservation of which has priority.
With regard to sites outside of such protected areas, while the conservation of the ecological interest may not have the same priority in such areas, the Government is fully committed, through our participation in the Convention on Biological Diversity and our commitment to sustainable development, to ensuring that the conservation and sustainable use of our natural resources is taken into account in all relevant sectors, including those involved in commercial production.
This commitment to conservation and sustainable development applies, therefore, not just within protected areas, where it has priority, but throughtout the country. It is recognised, however, that turning this commitment into practical and effective action will require continued and ongoing initiatives. The national biodiversity plan will seek to put such initiatives in place.
The plan will review the state of biological diversity in Ireland and outline the measures which are currently in place for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. However, its main focus will be on setting out strategies and actions to be undertaken for the conservation and sustainable use of such biological diversity in the future. The plan will examine biodiversity at ecosystem, species and the genetic level and it will cover all ecosystems, terrestrial, freshwater and marine, and all taxonomic groups. It will pay special attention to the need for the integration of the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity into all relevant sectors and will consider the main sectors which impact on biodiversity, including agriculture, forestry and the marine resource industry.
It is my intention to have the national biodiversity plan published during 1998.
