The Environment Minister says we need to stop thinking of rhinos and pandas when we think of extinction.
It follows a global study which found almost half of all species in the world are going into decline.
The report published by Queens University warns almost half of all animal species are in decline, while 28% are facing extinction.
Environment Minister Eamon Ryan says it's impacting all species - big and small:
We've lost half of all the natural world in the last 50 years by invertebrate body mass weight.
"It's not just the famous animals, the rhinos, or the pandas.
"It's the insect life.
"It's the bird life."
Collie Ennis Research Associate in the Zoology Department of Trinity College says the erosion of biodiversity also threatens the future of humanity.
"With the increase of diseases coming into humanity, the collapse of biodiversity, which is our life support system, we need all these creatures to keep our water clean our, our air clean
Wildlife expert Eanna Ní Lamhna says she can see firsthand how the change in farming practices has impacted the population of ground-nesting birds like corncrakes and curlews.
"They're cutting the silage right down to another haircut, so nothing that nests on the ground can actually really nest there."
Experts in this field suggest a change in land use is a way of improving the situation.
