A new strategy to restore and enhance protection for nature in Northern Ireland has been launched by the agriculture and environment minister.

About 40% of the plants and animals in protected sites across Northern Ireland fall short of meeting the standard for "favourable condition".

And just one of 49 priority habitat types - like ancient and native woodlands, blanket bogs and species-rich grasslands - have favourable status.

The Nature Recovery Strategy sets out a long-term framework based on science for tackling biodiversity loss and restoring habitats.

Andrew Muir says nature must be put "back at the heart of everything we do"

Minister Andrew Muir said supporting nature was "not just a nice thing to do" but "a moral obligation to future generations".

But the minister acknowledged that money would be needed to address the challenges.

The strategy highlights the importance of nature as providing the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe.

Muir said nature must be put "back at the heart of everything we do because when nature thrives, people flourish".

"It is essential to a strong economy, healthier communities and a more resilient Northern Ireland," he said.

"With so much of our natural world lost, we must protect what remains, restore what has been damaged and create new habitats at scale."

Northern Ireland is one of the most "nature-depleted" parts of the world, according to one major report

Many places in Northern Ireland support rare or threatened plants, animals and habitats.

They can be legally designated to help ensure better management and protection of those species.

There are hundreds of such designated sites across Northern Ireland, covering about 10% of the land and 38% of coastal waters - classed as Areas of Special Scientific Interest; Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) which have international biodiversity importance; Ramsar Sites which cover wetlands of international importance; Special Protection Areas (SPAs); and Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs).

That should lead to work to protect the species and habitats they have been designated for.

But the Office for Environmental Protection found not enough sites are being designated and the condition of those that have been is worsening.

The number of sites that were in favourable condition dropped from 61.7% in 2008, to 51.5% in 2024.

It is now investigating how those sites are being managed, external by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, after it found implementation of the designation fell short.

Northern Ireland is one of the most nature-depleted areas in the world, according to the 2023 State of Nature Report.

It found 12% of species in Northern Ireland are under threat of extinction, and the number of flowering plants had declined by 14% since 1970.

The Nature Recovery Strategy identifies six external pressures affecting nature and biodiversity - invasive species; climate change; human impact through inappropriate development; land and sea-use change; increased intensive farming; pollution.

It says these must all be addressed effectively to allow nature to thrive.

Ulster Farmers' Union deputy president Glenn Cuddy said his organisation was "still a bit skeptical" about the strategy.

"There's always a concern that nature will be more thought of than the farming and farmers have been walking along with nature for a long time, even before some of these projects have started," he said.

"We have always been the guardians of the countryside and for nature too."

Heather McLachlan, the National Trust's Northern Ireland director, said: "What really needs to happen is that we need to see where are the priorities.

"How do we get this action going, who's going to do it and most importantly where's the money going to come from to get it done?"

Joanne Sherwood, the director of The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Ireland said: "Species are really in decline so what it means for us is this charts out the strategy and the way forward.

"But of course a strategy isn't everything - we need now to act and take urgent action."