Biodiversity-Strategy-January-2023

5 1.0 Executive Summary This document sets out Fermanagh and Omagh District Council’s Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan from 2022 - 2027. It explores the unique biodiversity of the District, the biodiversity crisis that is unfolding worldwide, and the practical steps the Council can take to restore biodiversity locally. This will help us to move towards the UN’s shared vision of ‘living in harmony with nature by 2050’ . Our District is renowned for its beautiful scenery and wild, open landscapes of hills, lakes, rivers, caves, woodlands and bogs. This diverse mosaic is home to a vast array of priority and protected habitats and species. Biodiversity is fundamental to both planet and people, whilst providing a host of services and functions that bring value to our lives. Biodiversity is under increasing threat at global, regional and local levels. Urban development, invasive non-native species, intensive agricultural practices and climate change are just some of the drivers of biodiversity loss in Northern Ireland. The Council acknowledges the role of its partners within the Biodiversity Steering Group and their commitment to working in partnership to protect and enhance local biodiversity. This approach has served our District well, through the implementation of Local Biodiversity Action Plans (LBAPs) and will continue to be a feature of our work going forward. The complexity and scale of the challenges we face will require commitment from many stakeholders, extending well beyond the remit of the Steering Group. Central to this will be a role for residents and visitors of our District to contribute positively to local biodiversity. Fermanagh and Omagh District Council seeks to champion and promote biodiversity and be an exemplar of good practice across our operations. Our aims are simple: • Protect, enhance and restore biodiversity on Council managed estate • Increase awareness and action for local biodiversity in the District • Work in partnership with others to deliver biodiversity action in the District. Through the delivery of seven thematic action plans based on evidenced needs, the Council will contribute to the wider outcomes linked to principles contained within the legislation, which places a legal duty and responsibility on Council to act, namely: • Protection of biodiversity • Maintenance of biodiversity • Enhancing biodiversity • Restoring biodiversity • Promoting the understanding of biodiversity. This Strategy does not sit in isolation; it has synergy and complementarity with several key strategic commitments made by the Council. By taking action to deliver on the aims of the Biodiversity Strategy, progress is made towards improving the environment, mitigating against and adapting to climate change, and promoting/supporting health and wellbeing. By protecting and enhancing our natural assets in a sustainable way, we are also developing the tourism potential of the District. “To restore stability to our planet, we must restore its biodiversity, the very thing that we’ve removed. It’s the only way out of this crisis that we have created. We must re-wild the world.” David Attenborough, Life on our Planet, 2020