His “Half-Earth” team is mapping the planet’s hot-spots of biodiversity to link them together in a grand conservation plan. On this side of the Atlantic, the new EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, key pillar of the European Green Deal is far more modest but still highly ambitious. Ireland’s conservation areas total 14 per cent of the land, well short of the 18 per cent European average. Teagasc scientists agree that the EU biodiversity plan will demand “transformative change” in farming. The new drive to clean up polluted rivers, lakes and drinking water has special importance for Ireland.

Source: The Irish Times December 05, 2020 06:00 UTC