It is that range of biodiversity that we must care for - the whole thing - rather than just one or two stars."
~ David Attenborough

Biodiversity (biological diversity) is the variety of life on earth and includes all plants, animals, micro-organisms, and the places where they live.

Biodiversity matters to people. It has direct benefits for people's livelihoods. It provides direct benefit for farming, fisheries, medicines, manufacturing, and tourism. It also provides indirect benefits for flood control, waste water systems, water quality, soil creation and fertility and human health.

It's aesthetic, cultural and spiritual value enriches our lives.

Global biodiversity is being lost at a rate many times higher that that of natural extinction, due to land conversion, climate change, pollution, unsustainable harvesting of natural resources and invasive species. It is estimated that one third of the world's biodiversity has been lost since 1970. Ireland is the European stronghold for peatlands, at one time covering 1.35 million hectares. The destruction of these peatlands by afforestation, turf cutting, industrial peat extraction and reclamation has resulted in an 82% loss of those wetlands.

Despite Ireland's small size we possess half of the raised bogs and blanket bogs of conservation importance left in Europe.