The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is an
executive agency within the
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). It is responsible for
conservation
Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws.
Conservation may also refer to:
Environment and natural resources
* Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...
of
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
's environment and natural heritage.
Originally part of the
Department of the Environment
An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...
(DOENI), the agency was called the Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) until 1 July 2008, and also had responsibility for the historic environment. On 16 May 2016 the DOENI was dissolved and NIEA became part of DAERA. At the same time, the historic environment functions of NIEA were transferred to the
Department for Communities
The Department for Communities (DfC, Irish: ''An Roinn Pobal'', Ulster Scots: ''Depairtment fur Commonities'') is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility f ...
.
NIEA is responsible for a range of protected areas in Northern Ireland, including eight
areas of outstanding natural beauty, 47
national nature reserves, 43
special areas of conservation, and 10
special protection areas. The NIEA employs 630 people as of 2020.
Equivalent bodies in other parts of the United Kingdom
*
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
:
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...
,
Natural England
*
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
:
NatureScot,
Scottish Environment Protection Agency
*
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
:
Natural Resources Wales
See also
*
List of Government departments and agencies in Northern Ireland
*
Conservation in the United Kingdom
*
NetRegs
NetRegs is a website set up to help small businesses in Scotland and Northern Ireland to become more environmentally aware. It has been developed by a partnership between the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Northern Ireland Enviro ...
References
External links
* {{Official website
Northern Ireland coast and countryside
Northern Ireland Executive
Conservation in Northern Ireland
Environment of Northern Ireland
Environmental agencies in the United Kingdom
Interested parties in planning in the United Kingdom
Regulators of Northern Ireland
Environmental protection agencies