The Heritage Council’s Biodiversity Officer Programme: Shaping Ireland’s wild future

Supporting Biodiversity Officers around the country is a priority for the Heritage Council. Their vital work translates biodiversity policy into practical action on the ground, writes Meadhbh Bolger of the Heritage Council.

The Heritage Council is a public body whose mission is to develop a wide understanding of the vital contribution that our heritage makes to our social, environmental and economic well-being. Our work spans built, cultural and natural heritage. We provide policy advice, run education programmes, raise awareness, and work with local communities and partners, including through our grants.

One of our vital partnerships is with the local authority sector. Ceangal is our Local Authority Heritage Programme, which includes Biodiversity Officers, Heritage Officers, Archivists and Architectural Conservation Officers working in local authorities across the country. Ceangal is delivered in partnership between the Heritage Council and Local Government Ireland.

The Heritage Council set up the Biodiversity Officer part of the Ceangal Programme in 2022, establishing Biodiversity Officer positions across the country. They are now in post in 30 of Ireland’s 31 local authorities. For most local authorities, this is the first time they have a staff member dedicated to biodiversity. The Heritage Council has been building that capacity over the past few years, through strategic support and guidance, funding, network and professional development, and applied conservation action.

Sligo County Council launch their Local Authority Biodiversity Action Plan in December 2025.

Biodiversity Officers are vital in translating international, national and local legislation and strategies into practical actions for biodiversity on the ground. Their work is underpinned by the National Biodiversity Action Plan, a framework that outlines how Ireland will address biodiversity loss and enhance its natural habitats through to 2030 and which mandates all public bodies to integrate biodiversity into their planning.

Some of the practical work Biodiversity Officers do at the city, and county level includes collecting data on biodiversity, undertaking ecological surveys and mapping, carrying out nature conservation and restoration projects, developing policy, providing advice and information, and raising awareness. The approach is not only about conserving biodiversity but also involves engaging communities through educational programmes and initiatives.

Developing Local Authority Biodiversity Action Plans is key to their work. The Heritage Council published a guidance document on developing the plans and plans are now adopted in 18 local authorities (as of June 2026) with at least 10 more to come by the end of 2026. Plans matter because they move from good intentions to organised effort and give a framework to work with. As part of the development process, Biodiversity Working Groups are set up by the local authority. These groups bring together statutory bodies, landowners, communities and practitioners around shared biodiversity objectives and are a key governance structure and step in developing the plans and supporting their implementation.

Examples of some of the highlights and successes by the Heritage Council and Biodiversity Officers in the past few years include:

• Biodiversity Officers holding regional conferences in Connacht, Munster and Leinster on artificial lighting and its impacts on biodiversity, with the aim to upgrade local authority lighting policy for the betterment of wildlife. These have led to some positive changes so far, such as directly informing a new lighting policy in the Sligo County Development Plan.
• The Heritage Council and many Biodiversity Officers have been working with faith communities around the country on helping them to take biodiversity actions on their faith grounds. The Heritage Council published a booklet to support this: Havens for Nature: Supporting Biodiversity in Faith Grounds.
• Biodiversity Officers coordinated multiple national, regional and local surveys including the National Mayfly Survey, barn owl monitoring, wetland surveys, woodland bat monitoring, and hedgerow surveys. This data feeds into national recording systems and supports the evidence base for biodiversity policy, including Ireland’s reporting obligations under the EU Habitats Directive and the Nature Restoration Regulation.

Looking forward, the Heritage Council is planning to continue and strengthen its investment, support, and development of the Biodiversity Officer Programme under the Ceangal Programme, ensuring that Officers have the capacity, the guidance and the organisational backing to meet the demands that the biodiversity crisis faces us with.

W: www.heritagecouncil.ie