Kildare County Council reaffirms commitment to rebuilding habitats and ecosystem restoration after EU vote

By Beth Molloy in Strasbourg

Kildare County Council has reaffirmed its commitment to rebuilding habitats and ecosystem restoration following the European Parliament’s vote to keep the Nature Restoration Law alive this week. 

Speaking after the vote, a spokesperson for the Council said that “Kildare County Council has high ambitions for restoring habitats, protecting native biodiversity, and making space for nature.”

The European Parliament’s vote on Wednesday came after months of division between the parliamentary groups. With the backing of all Irish MEPs the law narrowly survived a 324-312 vote, with 12 abstentions. 

The Nature Restoration Law aims to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030 and repair all ecosystems needing restoration by 2050. The law had received considerable push-back from farming communities concerned about the prospect of rewetting farmland areas. 

Following a series of votes on amendments to the law, responsibility for achieving rewetting targets will now be largely on Bord na Mona and will be carried out on state lands. 

At the global, national, regional, and local levels, habitat loss is the primary force behind biodiversity loss. 

“The County of Kildare does not escape; unfortunately, wherever humans settle, we tend to alter the ecosystems and landscape in such a way that other species can no longer thrive or even exist there,” the County Council’s spokesperson remarked. 

They continued that “this can be through physical landscape changes such as draining wetland or the removal of trees or hedgerows. Even just through disturbance, such as building a pathway in a wild area which leads to increased footfall, and results in shyer species of mammals and birds being pushed out.”

Several Irish MEPs who are members of the European People’s Party,  the group responsible for tabling the motion to reject the Nature Restoration Law, defied the party’s mandate and voted to reject the group’s proposal. 

“This Nature Restoration Law has been divisive in the European Parliament,” said the Council’s spokesperson, “however, in Ireland, it has received support from most quarters, and a similar trend seems to be evident in Kildare.”

“In recent years, Irish society has become increasingly aware of the importance of the services provided by our ecosystems; from wetlands reducing flooding risk, and tree-cover protecting against extremes of temperature; to bats controlling insect-pest populations and wild bees ensuring abundant harvests through pollination.

“People have been taking stock, and awareness has grown about the vital need for providing space for nature in our landscapes.”