Andrew Muir MLA, Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Development, announced the launch of the Nature Recovery Strategy for Northern Ireland today.
The document outlines a long-term approach to recover habitats and safeguard ecosystems vital for local food production, water supplies and air quality.
Shaped by input from stakeholders and members of the public, the plan provides a structure for collective action guided by scientific evidence.
It supports wider international efforts to conserve 30 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas, alongside marine and coastal zones, by 2030.
Nature underpins the food we produce, the water we drink and the air we breathe, according to the Minister's presentation.
Given the limited time remaining in this shortened mandate, Muir ensured the Strategy includes a target to take this forward in the next term of office.
The Minister stated that publication must now be followed by sustained funding and action involving government, businesses, land managers, environmental organisations and communities.
The plan collates actions and targets already agreed or in development in other strategies while identifying additional measures to promote nature restoration.
Officials clarified that designation alone does not mean those areas meet the target, as some sites require significant ecological improvement before they can fully contribute.
The full document, titled The Nature Recovery Strategy for Northern Ireland to 2032: Bigger, Better Managed And More Connected Nature, is available on the DAERA website.
Media queries should be directed to the DAERA Press Office at pressoffice.group@daera-ni.gov.uk or telephone 028 9016 3460.