The garden at the National Forensic Mental Health Service in Portrane. File photograph: Alan Betson
When diggers move in, trees come down and concrete is poured, the chances of nature surviving in the altered environment beyond a few neatly positioned planters seem slim.
A recent report by the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) says, however, that biodiversity must be built into construction projects from now on.
It is calling for a “no net loss” approach, meaning that whatever biodiversity is moved, felled or flattened by development must be replaced on-site or in an alternative location.
The ask is less ambitious than in Britain, where a 2021 law introduced the principle of “biodiversity net gain” requiring developers to leave nature 10 per cent better off.
But it would still require a change in how planners, developers an
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