Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the critical foundation of Earth's life support system on which the welfare of current and future generations depends. Humans depend on biodiversity and the ecosystem services that stem from it, for many basic needs.

From all 17 of the SDGs, two goals are foundational to protect the health of our planet: Goal 14 (Life below Water) and Goal 15 (Life on Land). UN SDG 15 aims to" protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss".

Technological University Dublin is committed to providing for a healthy, happy, prosperous, and sustainable future through positive action on climate change, with biodiversity central to this commitment. In this, the overriding priority for biodiversity in TU Dublin is to identify and prioritise for conservation all remaining semi-natural habitat, which contains ecological significant indigenous flora and fauna on campus and take actions which align with, or enhance this priority, with a commitment to ensure future land use and landscape management practices will not negatively impact these habitats.

In line with this, to halt any loss of biodiversity, campus planning will require prioritising the conservation of any fragment of semi-natural habitat remaining in line with current best practices and standards. Added to this, will be a planned and sensitive approach to their future management.

In line with growing International, European, and National commitments that seek to reduce human impact on the planet, TU Dublin will work with the three local authorities, local communities, students and staff on biodiversity action plans and interventions that aim to identify, conserve, and ameliorate, with sensitive local natural environments. Therefore, it is accepted that often doing nothing is the most advantageous option and is in the best interests of biodiversity. Additionally, the interests of biodiversity are best served where the movement of species and importation of trees and other plants is reduced to limit the risk of spreading pests and diseases, to avoid displacing species that are truly native to a location, and to avoid damage to biogeographical integrity.

Read the report Biodiversity on Grangegorman Campus.

 

GLAS Community Garden at TU Dublin