Dunsany estate in Co Meath agrees landmark Irish biodiversity deal

The loss of nature is a crisis running in parallel with climate disruption. Yet restoring biodiversity can bring a double dividend, helping to bring ecosystems back to a healthy state and countering many of the consequences of global warming. It has a critical role in making a sustainable world.

This is a reality being faced up to by many businesses eager to play a meaningful role, including supporting the deployment of nature-based solutions. Out of this more holistic approach a new system of biodiversity credits is being established, which takes in a landmark initiative recently announced in Ireland.

Biodiversity credits are legal and financial instruments, serving as tradable assets. Their value is primarily derived from their ability to facilitate absorbing carbon from the atmosphere and significantly bolster biodiversity. They are equivalent to an eco-friendly certificate that shows you have made a piece of land healthier for nature, allowing it to support more plants and animals as well as absorb carbon dioxide.

Irish speciality coffee group Coffeeangel is joining forces with the Dunsany Estate in Co Meath and cleantech company Bionua in an initiative that will see it commit 5 per cent of profits over the next five years to buying biodiversity credits. This is the first time such a deal has been completed in Ireland – and only the second time across Europe.

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As with carbon credits, transparent and verified data is critical to credibility. This is where Bionua comes in. It deploys cutting-edge technology to monitor nature in real time. Driven by AI, it utilises a combination of satellite multispectral imaging and ground-based sensors to accurately quantify carbon sequestration and biodiversity above and below ground.

This enables corporate organisations and SMEs to work with landowners to produce biodiversity credits. The lands, under long-term stewardship agreements, are dedicated solely to enhancing biodiversity and capturing carbon, using entirely natural processes and adhering strictly to a policy of causing no harm.

The first year of this deal with Coffeeangel, which supplies coffee and brewing equipment, entails removal and storage of a minimum of 80,000 kgs of carbon from the atmosphere at Dunsany nature reserve, while also protecting and enhancing its ecosystem.

The estate dates from the 11th century and covers an area of 650 hectares. Some 300 hectares have been dedicated to rewilding, forming the core of its nature reserve.

“When I embarked on my journey of rewilding the land, the objective was simple: bring back nature,” explains Lord Dunsany, the film director and writer Randal Plunkett. “The goal was quickly achieved with species returning and increased biodiversity. Then came the second goal, making rewilding a mainstream concept.”

Although the public was listening, other rewilding initiatives were slow to get started, he adds.

“Landowners were fearful to buy into the concept as there was no way to make it financially viable. We needed a model that was not solely built on Government subsidies,” he says.

“I am very proud of this initiative and the model we have created with Bionua and Coffeeangel. I’m especially proud that it is an Irish collaboration. We are, after all, the green nation, and today it feels a whole lot greener.”

In 2014 livestock agriculture ceased on the estate, allowing fields and forests to undergo rewilding. Such efforts yielded notable results, including a 35 per cent increase in bird populations. That resurgence includes a return of the corncrake.

This year marked a significant milestone, with the return of the woodpecker, a species not seen in the area for more than a century. The red kite and snipe, both integral to the local ecosystem, have also re-established a presence. Insect populations, including vital pollinators such as bees and dragonflies, have doubled in the past five years.

In terms of mammalian diversity, there has been a decrease in non-native grey squirrels, coupled with a welcome return of the pine marten and increases in otter in the rivers of the estate. The reserve’s flora are also flourishing, with an abundance of wildflowers and plant species.

Founder of Bionua William Butterly says: “Through our biodiversity credits we are giving companies the chance to make a real-world difference locally by supporting the rewilding of nature and, in so doing, combating biodiversity loss.”

This offers companies not just a way of meeting sustainability goals but a way to showcase their commitment locally to their customers, stakeholders and the public.

“This is the first sale of credits of many that we envisage from our partnership with Dunsany nature reserve which has the capacity to produce hundreds of credits per month for organisations whether they are large corporates or SMEs,” adds Butterly.

The credits offer an incentive to large landowners to generate income by preserving and enhancing the biodiversity of their lands, he notes.

“By purchasing credits organisations can also take nature-positive action to contribute to conservation of ecosystems, protection of endangered species and promotion of overall biodiversity, while also meeting their environmental and sustainability objectives,” he says.

The biodiversity credits produced by Bionua are to the ISO 14064-2 standard and independently verified. Sustainability reporting obligations have increased for organisations with the introduction of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which requires organisations to identify and assess material impacts, risks and opportunities that relate to biodiversity.

Coffeeangel chief executive Karl Purdy adds: “As pioneers of the Irish speciality coffee scene, we understand the environmental challenges that our industry faces and that we have a responsibility to tackle these.”

The company had a long-standing commitment to sustainability – “whether that is using renewable-sourced energy to run our shops, using locally produced, fully recyclable packaging or launching social initiatives like our #YourCupOurFuture programme”, says Purdy.

He accepts that these steps are not enough, given what is facing the world and the threat to biodiversity in particular, but says the continued rewilding of Dunsany nature reserve over the next five years “will allow us to practically, tangibly and verifiably offset our carbon impact”.