Biodiversity biases in research and practice: Lessons from the Irish onshore wind sector

Abstract

  1. Alongside increases in renewable energy developments associated with climate change mitigation efforts, there has been increasing recognition of the role of biodiversity in mitigating and adapting to climate change. Environmental Impact Assessment Reports (EIARs) document potential impacts of proposed new developments on a broad range of environmental factors, including biodiversity, and propose actions to alleviate those impacts. More recently, addressing trade-offs between developments of infrastructure for climate mitigation and biodiversity impacts in EIARs is becoming increasingly important. However, biodiversity may be measured in many ways, impacts may be taxon-specific and there can be survey biases towards particular species and taxonomic groups. It is, therefore, important to consider what is included in EIARs, and to understand the extent to which the taxonomic focus of EIARs aligns with published scientific research evidence.
  2. Here, we systematically review both ecological surveys conducted in EIARs of granted windfarm applications in Ireland between 2000 and 2021 and the scientific literature examining the impacts of onshore windfarms on biodiversity.
  3. We found that EIARs in the early 2000s examined a considerably more diverse range of animal and plant groups than the scientific literature at that time. This divergence in focus diminished through time as both EIARs and the scientific literature captured a more diverse range of taxa. However, taxa and impacts with low prominence in the scientific literature were also surveyed less frequently in EIARs, highlighting that understudied taxa and biodiversity impacts are at risk of being underestimated or undetected at the development stage.
  4. Practical implication. We conclude that explicit comparison of the two-way link between scientific literature and EIARs can aid in identifying knowledge gaps and assessment of the broader impacts of renewable energy developments, helping both to inform appropriate mitigation for biodiversity impacts and to inform policymakers.