The CSO, through Ireland's Institute for SDGs (IIS), supports reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals.
SDG 15.5.1 Red list index information is published by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) provides information on Ireland’s Red Lists.
In the 1960s, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) developed the first standard approach for dealing with the presentation of information on rare and threatened species.
More formal IUCN red list categories and criteria were developed in the early 1990s to further objectively assess and prioritise species for conservation purposes at a global scale. A review of these categories and criteria was completed in 1998 and 1999 and the current version, the IUCN Red List categories and criteria, Version 3.1, is now widely used around the world for species assessments (IUCN 2001). The IUCN also produce regularly updated guidelines for using the categories and criteria (IUCN 2010) and have produced guidelines for applying the criteria at a regional level (IUCN 2003).
NPWS and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency are working together with national experts and with the National Biological Data Centres North and South to produce regional red lists for the island of Ireland. The production of red lists is an action under our National Biodiversity Plans. Red lists are published on an irregular basis, as and when datasets and the necessary national expertise for taxonomic groups become available.
The IUCN Red List Index (RLI) measures trends over time in the aggregate extinction risk of sets of species. The index can be disaggregated to produce RLIs for different subsets of species with different policy relevance (e.g. migratory species, marine species, etc.), or for all species showing trends driven by different factors (e.g. invasive alien species, fishing, use, etc.), or for regions or countries (for which the index shows how well species in the region or country are conserved relative to its potential to contribute to global species conservation). These RLIs are based on data from amphibians, birds, corals, cycads and mammals, where available.
SDG 15.6.1 Number of countries that have adopted legislative, administrative and policy frameworks to ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits - information is provided on the UN SDG Global Database.
Information on the UN SDG Global Database provides the following information in the SDG 15.6.1 metadata document:
The indicator is defined as the number of countries that have adopted legislative, administrative and policy frameworks to ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits. It refers to the efforts by countries to implement the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity (2010) and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (2001).
For data series ER CBD PTYPGRFA, ER CBD NAGOYA, ER CBD ORSPGRFA, CBD ABSCLRHS the unit of measurement is a binary measure (1 = YES; 0 = NO).
For data series ER CBD SMTA the unit of measurement is number of Standard Material Transfer Agreements (SMTAs). The total number of SMTAs transferring plant genetic resources for food and agriculture to the country is a cumulative figure.
The Access and Benefit-Sharing Clearing-House Country Profiles.
The online reporting system on Compliance - Country Report on the implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA).
The International Treaty - Easy-SMTA.
Data is collected from the existing online platforms listed in the section on data sources above.
Data is available on the UN SDG Global Database as shown in Table 5.1.
SDG 15.7.1 Proportion of traded wildlife that was poached or illicitly trafficked - information is provided on the UN SDG Global Database and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) website.
The UN metadata repository provides information on data sources in the metadata document SDG 15.7.1 as follows:
The share of all trade in wildlife detected as being illegal.
“All trade in wildlife” is the sum of the values of legal and illegal trade.
“Legal trade” is the sum of the value of all shipments made in compliance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), using valid CITES permits and certificates.
“Illegal trade” is the sum of the value of all CITES/listed specimens seized.
The legal trade data are reported annually by parties to CITES and stored in the CITES Trade Database, managed by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge.
The detected illegal trade data have been gathered from a number of sources and combined in a UNODC database called “World WISE”. This database will be filled, from 2017, with data from the new annual CITES Illegal Trade reporting requirement.
The US LEMIS price data for CITES-listed species are also provided to UNEP-WCMC within the U.S. annual report to CITES.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) are the CITES Management and Scientific Authorities for Ireland. Information here is provided on the NPWS website.
CITES is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The aim of the Convention is to regulate and monitor the international trade in certain species of animals and plants, and to ensure that trade does not threaten their survival in the wild.
CITES is an international agreement between Governments, known as Parties to the Convention, which was agreed in Washington in 1973. It entered into force in 1975. Over 170 Parties (countries) have signed up to the Convention. Ireland became a CITES Party in 2002. The full text of the Convention can be found on the CITES website.
The European Commission have announced that the revised guidance on ivory trade, the amended Commission Regulation 865/2006, amended Annexes to Council Regulation 338/97 and amended Implementing Regulation 712/2012 were adopted on 16th December 2021.
The revised act was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 30 December 2021 in all official EU languages.
Please find hereafter some press materials published on the European Commission website as well as the documents:
SDG 15.8.1 Proportion of countries adopting relevant national legislation and adequately resourcing the prevention or control of invasive alien species - information is provided on the UN SDG Global Database and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) website.
The UN metadata repository gives the definition in the metadata document SDG 15.8.1 as follows:
This indicator aims to quantify trends in:
Commitment by countries to relevant multinational agreements, specifically:
(1) National adoption of invasive alien species relevant policy.
Percentage of countries with:
(a) national legislation and policy relevant to invasive alien species.
(b) if targets and objectives within national strategies for preventing and controlling invasive alien species are aligned with Aichi Target 9
The translation of policy arrangements into action by countries to implement policy and actively prevent and control invasive alien species (IAS) and the resourcing of this action, specifically:
(2) National allocation of resources towards the prevention or control of IAS.
An “Alien” species is described as one which has been introduced outside its natural distribution range because of intentional or accidental dispersion by human activity. An alien species which has become established in a natural or semi-natural ecosystem or habitat, is an agent of change, and threatens native biological diversity is known as an “Invasive alien species” (Convention on Biological Diversity 2016).
The introduction of an alien species can be intentional or unintentional /accidental. Alien species have been introduced intentionally for forestry, ornamental purposes, for aquaculture/mariculture, hunting, fisheries etc. Examples of unintentional or accidental introductions include alien species that have escaped from gardens, aquaculture containment facilities, forestry, horticulture; pets and aquarium species that are released in the wild; transport contaminants and stowaways including in ballast water or as hull fouling organisms, and seeds carried in soil, equipment, vehicles etc.
Mechanisms of impact of invasive species include competition, predation, hybridisation, and disease transmission, parasitism, herbivory and trampling and rooting. The outcomes of these impacts lead to biodiversity loss, habitat degradation, and loss of ecosystem services.
Data is available on the UN SDG Global Database.
Ireland’s National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) provide information on EU Regulation on Invasive Alien Species on their website as follows:
Some of the core provisions of EU Regulation 1143/2014 which deal with, among other things, bringing into the territory of the Union, keeping, breeding, transporting and placing on the market, species included on the list of invasive alien species of Union concern (the “Union List”) come into force on the 3rd August, 2016. For details see the documents at the links below:
Information from NPWS on EU Regulation 1143/2014
The Union List
FAQ
More information on the regulation, including the text of the regulation itself, can be found on the European Commission website.
Legislation is being prepared here to deal with issues, such as penalties for breaches of the regulation, which are a matter for each member state.
Further information on the regulation can be obtained by sending an email to biodiversitypolicy@housing.gov.ie
SDG 15.9.1 (a) Number of countries that have established national targets in accordance with, or similar to, Aichi Biodiversity Target 2 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 in their national biodiversity strategy and action plans and the progress reported towards these targets; and (b) integration of biodiversity into national accounting and reporting systems, defined as implementation of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting - information is provided on the UN SDG Global Database, in Ireland’s National Biodiversity Action Plan and in the CSO's Ecosystem and Environment Accounts.
Information here is extracted from the UN SDG metadata repository, with full details available in the indicator metadata document for SDG 15.9.1.
The indicator measures the progress towards national targets established in accordance with Aichi Biodiversity Target 2 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020: By 2020, at the latest, biodiversity values have been integrated into national and local development and poverty reduction strategies and planning processes and are being incorporated into national accounting, as appropriate, and reporting systems.
The indicator is divided in two sub-indicators:
Sub-Indicator (a)
SDG 15.9.1 (a) Number of countries that established national targets in accordance with Aichi Biodiversity Target 2 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 in their National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) and the progress reported towards these targets.
Sub-Indicator (b)
SDG 15.9.1 (b) Number of countries that have integrated biodiversity values into national accounting and reporting systems, defined as implementation of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA).
Data is available on the UN SDG Global Database.
The National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP) 2017-2021, the third such plan for Ireland, captures the objectives, targets and actions for biodiversity that will be undertaken by a wide range of government, civil society and private sectors to achieve Ireland’s Vision for Biodiversity.
In simple terms “biodiversity” includes all life on earth. As defined by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), “biological diversity” means the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes genetic diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.
In 1992 the CBD was established and Ireland ratified the Convention in 1996. The objectives of the CBD are “the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources”. Toward this end the CBD has identified in its strategic plan five strategic goals and 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets (see Appendix IV). In addition, the CBD requires each contracting party to develop national strategies and action plans for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
The NBAP 2017-2021 provides a framework to track and assess progress towards Ireland’s Vision for Biodiversity over a five-year timeframe from 2017 to 2021. To achieve the vision, seven strategic objectives were identified in the second National Biodiversity Action Plan “Actions for Biodiversity 2011-2016”. The continued implementation of these objectives has been retained for this new plan. Actions required to achieve the strategic objectives as well as the lead and key partners responsible for their implementation are set out in the Table of Actions.
The EPA's Biodiversity Cross-Office Team was established in October 2007. It has produced the EPA's Biodiversity Action Plan 2014-2018, which follows on from previous plans covering 2008-2010 and 2011-2013. This plan covers a range of actions which together represent a substantial support role undertaken by the agency in the protection of Ireland’s biodiversity.
The CSO has published an Information Note on Ecosystem Accounting which gives an overview of Ecosystem Accounting along with the definition of ecosystems and why they are important. Other publications from the CSO's Ecosystem Accounts include: Grasslands and Croplands; Peatlands and Heathlands; Rivers and Lakes by Extent.
Publications under the CSO's Environment Accounts include:
Environmental Accounts Air Emissions;
Environment Goods and Services Sector;
Environmental Subsidies and Similar Transfers;
Fossil Fuel and Similar Subsidies;
SDG 15.a.1 (a) Official development assistance on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and (b) revenue generated and finance mobilized from biodiversity-relevant economic instruments - information is provided on the UN SDG Global Database.
Information here is extracted from the UN SDG metadata repository, with full details available in the indicator metadata document for SDG 15.a.1.
This is a twin indicator consisting of:
a) Official development assistance on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, defined as gross disbursements of total Official Development Assistance (ODA) from all donors for biodiversity.
b) Revenue generated and finance mobilised from biodiversity-relevant economic instruments, defined as revenue generated and finance mobilised from biodiversity-relevant economic instruments, covering biodiversity-relevant taxes, fees and charges, and positive subsidies. New on-going work is underway to collect data on payments for ecosystem services and biodiversity offsets, including the finance they mobilise for biodiversity.
a) The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) defines ODA as those flows to countries and territories on the DAC list of ODA recipients and multilateral institutions which are:
(1) Provided by official agencies, including state and local governments, or by their executive agencies; and
(2) Each transaction of which:
a. is administered with the promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries as its main objective; and
b. is concessional in character.
b) The OECD Environmental Policy Committee (EPOC), through its unique database of Policy Instruments for the Environment (PINE), collects quantitative and qualitative information on policy instruments, from 110 countries worldwide. All countries are welcome to report to this database. The OECD publication Tracking Economic Instruments and Finance for Biodiversity 2020 presents statistics on the biodiversity-relevant economic instruments and the finance they mobilise, based on currently available data in PINE. The data are relevant to monitoring progress towards Aichi Biodiversity Target 3 (on incentives), Target 20 (on resource mobilisation) as well as Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 15.a. on biodiversity finance.
Ireland’s ODA was $47.36 million in 2020, according to the UN SDG Global Database. See Table 5.2.
SDG 15.c.1 Proportion of traded wildlife that was poached or illicitly trafficked information is covered under SDG 15.7.1 section above. The UN SDG metadata repository gives the definition in the metadata document for SDG 15.c.1.
