The Irish Citizen's Assembly on Biodiversity Loss is aimed at educating the public about the biodiversity loss occuring in Ireland, empowering the public through education, and facilitating discussion and deliberation on how to address biodiversity loss.
Problems and Purpose
Biodiversity has become a problem both globally and in Ireland—so much so that, in 2019, Ireland declared biodiversity loss as an emergency. [1] As a result, Ireland convened a Citizens Assembly solely focused on combating biodiversity loss. The Assembly on Biodiversity Loss will take over a period of six months beginning May 14th, 2022, in Dublin, Ireland. As of December 2022, it is an ongoing process. [2] It aims to generate a new National Biodiversity Action Plan to combat the loss of biodiversity in Ireland. [3] The Assembly aims to create a proposal for the state’s response to the problem of biodiversity and enhancing public understanding of the issue.
Background History and Context
Despite the 2019 Declaration of Biodiversity Emergency, critics have pointed out the lack of concrete actions from the government. [4] In terms of climate and biodiversity actions, Ireland performed the worst in 2020 among developed countries and lags behind other EU countries. [5] NGO organizations such as BirdWatch Ireland criticized the Irish government for failing to provide funding for nature conservation in Budget 2023. [6] They pointed out that more than a quarter of Ireland’s bird species are threatened, in addition to 37% in decline. [7] During the government’s second Biodiversity Conference, the Social Democrat criticized the lack of concrete action from the government, as it announced only six of the 31 biodiversity officers that the government promised to appoint. [8] They argue that the necessary legislation and enforcements for biodiversity are not in place. Extinction Rebellion Ireland also protested outside the conference for the lack of actions from the government during the Biodiversity Conference. [9]
The Biodiversity Citizen’s Assembly runs parallel to the Dublin Citizens’ Assembly. The previous Citizen’s Assemblies have proven their importance in paving the way for solving contentious political issues such as gender equality and abortion. [10] The assemblies from 2016-2018 voted to give power to the Oireachtas related to abortion, which contributed to the subsequent referendum that approved the recommendation of the Assembly. [11] These initiatives ultimately showed the power and influence of congregating a group of public broadly representative to examine, debate, and advise the Government on critical aspects of Irish life.
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
The Irish Citizen's Assembly was established through the Parliamentary Resolution (Dáil Éireann) as an independent body with a chairperson appointed by the Government. In addition to the Chairperson, who will host the Citizen's Assembly, 99 other individuals make up the remaining members of the Citizen's Assembly. Funding for the Citizen's Assembly is derived from a public tendering process. Following the public procurement rules, Requests for Tenders were issued regarding the goods and services necessary to establish and continue the operation of the Citizen's Assembly. [12] While the Citizen's Assembly is a government-derived independent body, other organizations show support for the Assembly as well. For example, We the Citizens, was the project that helped shape the Citizen's Assemblies. In addition, Fair Seas, a coalition of environmental NGOs and networks, and the Irish Wildlife Trust, a non-governmental organization and charity aimed at preserving Irish wildlife, have also submitted proposals for the Assembly to consider for the deliberations. [13]
Participant Recruitment and Selection
The membership increased beyond those on the Electoral Register. This new approach takes positions from previous assemblies and permits an extensive representation of people in Ireland. An invitation was sent by the government to 34,000 randomly selected households across Irish cities, towns, villages, and island communities. This invited an extensive number of homes to participate in the new Assemblies and guide national decisions. [14] A total of 100 members make up the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, which includes 99 randomly selected members of the public including an independent Chairperson. The recruitment of members to the Citizens’ Assemblies underwent a new approach to member recruitment. This entails crucial changes to the recruitment methodology and qualification criteria, illuminated by knowledge from former Citizen Assemblies and by international best practices. It highlights the first time any adults who are residents in the state, including those who are not Irish citizens and not enlisted on the electoral register, could join the Citizens’ Assembly. This ensured a vast improvement in the geographic proliferation of members, while also increasing the inclusivity and quality of the random selection process. [15]
The recruitment process for the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss is as follows: 20,000 households nominate one adult from that household to apply to become a member of the assembly, and each county receives a proportionate number of invitations to population ratio. Dublin Citizen’s Assembly recruitment follows the same routine with 14,000 households. To prevent receiving more than one application from a household, a unique identifier code was required in the process. For eligible households, the due date for nominations was March 14th, 2022. [16]
Methods and Tools Used
As of December 2022, this process is still ongoing. The Secretariat of the Citizens’ Assembly used a stratified random selection process from information gathered from demographics during the registration. Of the 34,000 invitations sent, 2,300 people indicated that they would like to volunteer in the six weekends Citizens’ Assembly. [17] The GeoDirectory database randomly selects 99 individuals from eligible households. This process permitted the composition of wider Irish society with respect to gender, age, socioeconomic status, and geography. Experts and academics are invited to give speeches and talks which are aimed at improving the participants’ understanding of the issues and answering questions that they have. The Citizen's Assembly strives for deliberations and inclusive participation. To do so, the Citizen's Assembly follows these six fundamental principles: openness, fairness, equality of voice, efficiency, respect, and collegiality. [18]
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
As of December 2022, the Irish Citizen's Assembly on Biodiversity Loss was an ongoing process. [19] The procedure involves one chairperson for the assembly and 99 randomly selected members of Irish society. Together the 100 members of this Assembly will convene over six months to listen to experts regarding biodiversity loss in Ireland and how the Government can combat this loss. With the information provided over the period and submissions from the public, the members of the Citizen's Assembly will debate and deliberate the best course of action for combatting biodiversity loss. They will exchange ideas with each other and will ask questions, and get advice from experts.
During the Questions and Answers (Q & A) portion of the meetings, participants get to ask the panel and presenters specific questions regarding the topics of biodiversity loss presented that day. During the second Questions and Answers portion of the first meeting of the Citizen's Assembly, when discussing the state's resourcing to challenge biodiversity loss, one of the participants asked:
"Regarding the targets, we want to know what's driving to accept target that we obviously can't meet? We've seen the history shows we're not meeting any of these targets. Is it politics? Is it business? Why are we accepting targets that we obviously can't meet?" [20]
Allowing participants to ask hard questions, such as the one above, encourages more participation and better dialogue between the professionals and the public. Once the Citizen's Assembly on Biodiversity Loss has concluded, the assembly will submit the recommendations agreed upon to the Government to help guide and influence policies aimed at combating biodiversity loss in Ireland. This process gives members of Irish society a voice, encourages participation in governmental affairs, allows for public opinion to be considered regarding future policies, and further educates the public on current issues.
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
The Irish Citizen’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss started in May 2022; it is a six-month process that has not yet concluded. However, it intends to educate citizens about biodiversity loss and empower them to influence the governmental policies surrounding biodiversity loss. Allowing citizens to learn, debate, and deliberate about a specific topic (such as biodiversity loss) results in greater public participation, which helps bring about policy change. This also gives more legitimacy to public policies regarding biodiversity issues and pushes the government for more concrete actions. Additionally, the recordings of presentations and Q&A are made available online on the Citizen’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss website and YouTube. This allows the public to access the information presented to participants in the Assembly. Aside from digital access to information from the Citizen’s Assembly website, some news outlets, such as The Irish Times, have relayed or highlighted information from these meetings, as well as the conversations between the panel, participants, and guests such as farmers. [21] Digital access via the Citizen’s Assembly website or highlights from news sources increases public knowledge and awareness about the discussions taking place throughout this process.
Analysis and Lessons Learned
While the Citizen's Assembly on Biodiversity Loss has not concluded, previous Citizen's Assemblies have had a positive outcome regarding affecting change and empowering the public's voice. Following the previous Citizen's Assemblies, each of the recommendations put forth to the government by the Assemblies resulted in a referendum that changed policies and the constitution. [22] This provides a positive outlook for the conclusion of the Citizen's Assembly on Biodiversity Loss because there is a strong possibility that the recommendations made by the Assembly could result in a referendum that will further combat biodiversity loss. It shows that Citizen’s Assemblies can have an important influence on the legitimacy of political issues, public opinion, and real impact on political decisions.
See Also
References
[1] O'Shea, Kerry. “Ireland Declares Climate and Biodiversity Emergency,” IrishCentral.com, May 10, 2019, https://www.irishcentral.com/news/ireland-declares-climate-biodiversity-emergency.
[2] The Citizens' Assembly, 2022. Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. The Citizens' Assembly. Retrieved from https://www.citizensassembly.ie/en/assembly-on-biodiversity-loss/about/.
[3] The Citizens' Assembly, 2022. Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. The Citizens' Assembly. Retrieved from https://www.citizensassembly.ie/en/assembly-on-biodiversity-loss/about/.
[4] Corr, Shauna. “Government Slammed over Lack of Action on Biodiversity,” Irish Mirror, June 8, 2022, https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/government-slammed-over-lack-action-27179.
[5] Hargaden, Kevin. “It's Not Easy Being Green: Ireland Is Failing to Respond to the Climate Crisis,” America Magazine, March 16, 2022, https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2022/01/13/hargaden-emerald-island-not-so-green-242177.
[6] “Ireland's Bird Species Are in ‘Serious Trouble," Activists Call for More Funding.” IrishCentral.com, September 28, 2022. https://www.irishcentral.com/news/ireland-bird-decline.
[7] “Ireland's Bird Species Are in ‘Serious Trouble," Activists Call for More Funding.” IrishCentral.com, September 28, 2022. https://www.irishcentral.com/news/ireland-bird-decline.
[8] Corr, Shauna. “Government Slammed over Lack of Action on Biodiversity,” Irish Mirror, June 8, 2022, https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/government-slammed-over-lack-action-27179.
[9] Corr, Shauna. “Government Slammed over Lack of Action on Biodiversity,” Irish Mirror, June 8, 2022, https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/government-slammed-over-lack-action-27179.
[10] McKee, Rebecca. “The Citizens' Assembly behind the Irish Abortion Referendum,” involve.org.uk, July 9, 2018, https://involve.org.uk/resources/blog/opinion/citizens-assembly-behind-irish-abortion-referendum.
[11] McKee, Rebecca.“The Citizens' Assembly behind the Irish Abortion Referendum,” involve.org.uk, July 9, 2018, https://involve.org.uk/resources/blog/opinion/citizens-assembly-behind-irish-abortion-referendum.
[12] “Procurement and Costs.” The Citizens' Assembly, 2022. https://www.citizensassembly.ie/en/previous-assemblies/2020-2021-citizens-assembly-on-gender-equality/about-the-citizens-assembly/procurement-and-costs/.
[13] “About.” FairSeas, September 24, 2022. https://fairseas.ie/about/.
[14] The Citizens' Assembly, “Citizens' Assembly Broadens Participation for Upcoming Assemblies,” The Citizens' Assembly, March 3, 2022, https://www.citizensassembly.ie/en/news/press-releases/assembly-participation.html.
[15] The Citizens' Assembly, “Recruitment of Members to the Citizens' Assemblies 2022,” The Citizens' Assembly, 2022, https://www.citizensassembly.ie/recruitment/.
[16] The Citizens' Assembly, “Recruitment of Members to the Citizens' Assemblies 2022,” The Citizens' Assembly, 2022, https://www.citizensassembly.ie/recruitment/.
[17] Freiberg, Rubina. “A Lot to Learn from Rural Communities' to Tackle Biodiversity Loss,” Agriland, October 14, 2022, https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/a-lot-to-learn-from-rural-communities-to-tackle-biodiversity-loss/.
[18] Scully, Diarmuid. “Time for change?” Local Authority Times, 2022. https://www.ipa.ie/_fileUpload/Documents/LAT%20SUMMER%202022_Final.pdf.
[19] Boland, Lauren. “New Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss Officially Launched at First Meeting Today.” TheJournal.ie, October 15, 2022.
https://www.thejournal.ie/citizens-assembly-biodiversity-5762955-May2022/.
[20] “First Weekend Meeting 24th - 25th September 2022.” The Citizens' Assembly, 2022.
https://www.citizensassembly.ie/en/assembly-on-biodiversity-loss/meetings/first-weekend-meeting-24th-25th-september-2022.html.
[21] McGreevy, Ronan. “Citizens Assembly on Biodiversity Hears Age Profile of Farmers Is 'Stark'.” The Irish Times, October 15, 2022. https://www.irishtimes.com/environment/climate-crisis/2022/10/15/citizens-assembly-on-biodiversity-hears-age-profile-of-farmers-is-stark/.
[22] Courant, Dimitri. “Citizens' Assemblies for Referendums and Constitutional Reforms: Is There an ‘Irish Model’ for Deliberative Democracy?” Frontiers, January 1, 2021. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2020.591983/full.