Agenda item

The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       The purpose of this report is to seek permission for the council to sign up as a Partner to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

·        agree for the council to sign up as a Partner to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan. The Council is already undertaking significant work to support and protect our local pollinators in particular through the sensitive management of biodiversity rich sites. Agreeing to become a Plan Partner will recognise and promote our existing work and commitment. 

3.0       Main report

            Key Issues

3.1       Members are reminded that Council endorsed the All Ireland Pollinator Plan in September 2015 and was listed in the document as supporting the final Plan.

            The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2015-2020 was developed by stakeholders from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It is a shared plan of action supported by more than 90 governmental and non-governmental organisations. The Plan aims to take steps to reverse pollinator losses and help restore populations to healthy levels.

            The plan has five objectives:

·        Pollinator friendly habitat - To take action on farmland, public land & private land, to create a joined-up network of diverse and flower-rich habitats to support pollinators.

·        Raising awareness of pollinators and how to protect them - To increase awareness of the importance of pollinators and the resources they need to survive.

·        Managed pollinators – supporting beekeepers & growers - To achieve healthy, sustainable populations of managed pollinators that can play a full role in delivering pollination service.

·        Expanding our knowledge on pollinators and pollination service - To address gaps in knowledge through research and to develop an evidence base on the best and most cost-effective ways to protect pollinators.

·        Collecting evidence to track change and measure success - To build up knowledge on where pollinators occur and how they are changing, including in response to management actions.

3.2       Council has now been invited to become a more formal Plan Partner. 

3.3       Should Council decide to become a Plan Partner the Council would be agreeing:

1.      That the Council supports the ethos of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan and will consider the Plan in policies, plans, and management decisions where possible.

2.      To consider the evidence-based actions in the guideline document Councils: Actions to help Pollinators, and to carry out one pollinator-friendly action in the first year of signing up and plan to carry out at least three more within the following five years. The guideline document lists 30 possible actions, many of which are low cost or cost-neutral.

3.      To update the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan Team (within the National Biodiversity Data Centre) on the positive pollinator actions planned, implemented or maintained at the end of each year, when contacted, to help this promote our work.

3.4       The proposed actions align with our existing biodiversity work programme and not least our own pollinator project, Bee-licious. The Council is already contributing to the objectives of the Plan through our land management, for example meadow management at Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park and key elements of the City Cemetery project which focus on pollinators. The loss of natural and semi-natural habitats has been a key driver in pollinator declines and BCC owns and manages a number of significant sites including Cave Hill, Barnetts Demesne and Lagan Meadows.

3.5       The Biodiversity Officer was involved in the development of the guidance document for Councils and is confident the Council is well placed to demonstrate significant work in supporting pollinators. The guidance document can be found at: http://www.pollinators.ie/councils/

3.6       Should the Council agree to become a Plan Partner it will be acknowledged as a Partner on the website and in the annual report.

3.7       Financial & Resource Implications

            There are no financial or resource implications other than Officer time. 

3.8       Equality or Good Relations Implications/Rural Needs Assessment

            None.”

            The Committee granted permission for the Council to sign up as a Partner to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan.