Biodiversity and the Built Environment in Ireland

Ireland declared a Biodiversity and Climate Emergency in 2019, and the focus on biodiversity and the built environment has increased significantly since then.

The construction and built environment sectors are highly reliant on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Despite this, current spatial patterns of development and methods of construction often have a negative impact on nature.

There are clear links between four of the five main sources of biodiversity loss identified by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the built environment, namely changes in land use, climate change, pollution, and invasive alien species. These impacts happen on-site (e.g., habitat destruction and fragmentation) and off-site as construction materials are produced.

Yet, a well-designed built environment that takes a positive approach to protecting and enhancing biodiversity can provide many benefits to society, from preventing flooding and overheating risks to improving people’s health and well-being. Read more here.

The IGBC work on Biodiversity and the Built Environment

The Irish Green Building Council identified “Biodiversity & the Built Environment” as one of five priority areas in its 2023-2025 strategy.

Since 2023, the IGBC Biodiversity Team has provided resources to help the construction and property industry embed biodiversity in their processes and projects.

Table of Contents

Webinar Series

We hosted a successful “Biodiversity & the Built Environment” Webinar series – funded by the Department of Housing and now available for free on our on-demand platform, attended by more than 700 building professionals.

Factsheet & Checklist

We released a “Biodiversity and the Built Environment – IGBC’s Insights” publication and a “Biodiversity Checklist of the 10 things to do for a better Built Environment.”

Community of Practice

We launched a “Biodiversity and the Built Environment” Community of Practice for our members – a networking group for building professionals and property managers to share information on challenges and best practices, and to learn from each other.

IGBC members interested in biodiversity and nature-based solutions receive a quarterly newsletter which includes a policy update, information about our initiatives, key reading and video materials. If you are a member and you want to receive this update, contact [email protected] to ensure you are enrolled as a member.

Tours

We also organise tours with experts for our Community of Practice and IGBC members, providing them with opportunities to see real-life examples of green infrastructure and other solutions that enhance biodiversity in buildings and infrastructure.

Case Studies

In early 2024, the Government published the National Biodiversity Action Plan -2023-2030 , highlighting the importance of continuing to work on nature protection and enhancement.

Thanks to the support of Construct Innovate and the Land Development Agency, we are now working to mainstream biodiversity in the construction industry and stimulate concrete actions. The IGBC Biodiversity Team with the support of members of the Biodiversity and Built Environment Community of Practice, is working on creating a catalogue of case studies on protecting and enhancing biodiversity in various building typologies and infrastructure in an Irish context. If you believe, you have a case study worth sharing, please complete this questionnaire.

The steering group for this initiative includes:

Eimear Fox, Senior Landscape Architect at Transport Infrastructure Ireland
Dr. Úna FitzPatrick, Chief Scientific Officer at National Biodiversity Centre
Michael Goan, Urban Design and Sustainability Manager at Land Development Agency
Oisin Griffin, Head of Landscape and Urban Design at Cairn Homes
Maryann Harris, Environmental Planning Manager at the Department of Housing
Fran Igoe, Manager at Local Authority Waters Programme (Lawpro)
Patrycja Kochaniuk, Sustainability Lead at STW Architects
Neil Menzies, Director of Sustainability at Hibernia
Elizabeth O’Reilly, Project Officer (Ireland) at Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM)
Fiona Patterson, Europe Nature Lead at Arup
Ruth Saurin, Sustainability Manager at Glenveagh
Lorcan Scott, Biodiversity Officer at Office of Public Works (OPW)
Susan Vickers, Head of Environmental Sustainability at Cluid Housing (Chair)
Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer at Offaly CoCo