Marine coastal biodiversity and services in Ireland in a three-dimensional context: Scientific, news media, and legislative

Abstract

Biodiversity is a key indicator of ecosystem health and plays an important role in providing ecosystem services that are essential for economic development and social well-being. In Ireland, climate change and anthropogenic pressures have led to biodiversity loss and habitat degradation, which in turn affects the provision of ecosystem services. The aim of this study was to determine how marine coastal biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Republic of Ireland are portrayed in the scientific literature, news media, and current legislation in order to identify knowledge gaps and priority areas of intervention for policymakers and other decision-making stakeholders. A review of the scientific literature based on the Scopus database suggests a lack of stakeholder involvement in the scientific-based approach. Up to 2022 research on marine coastal biodiversity focused primarily on species richness and diversity, especially in the context of climate change, while research on ecosystem services focused primarily on ecosystem function. Analysis of the news media found that coverage of biodiversity and ecosystem services has increased over the past decade, but opportunities are being missed to raise public awareness of the multiple benefits, not just economic, of marine coastal ecosystems, their biodiversity, and the services they provide. The terms “biodiversity” and “ecosystem services” have only been introduced into Irish legislation in recent years. The legislative context at the national level is rather fragmented at diverse levels and mainly corresponds to the transposition of European Directives while national specific legislation is less developed. The interconnection between these three domains: scientific, news media and legislative was not evident in this study, especially in the case of the scientific field. Efforts to promote science-based knowledge, communication, collaboration, and transparency between these domains are crucial to support informed decision-making and promote public engagement while conserving biodiversity. Addressing the information gaps identified in this work could help advance the implementation of Nature-based Solutions (NbS), key cost-effective measures to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change while protecting biodiversity and ecosystem services.