Greener future key to nation’s prosperity
Ireland’s Environment 2012 — An Assessment, published yesterday by the Environmental Protection Agency, offers a snapshot of the state of the country’s environmental issues.
The report, the first in four years, says Ireland’s environment is in reasonably good condition, and the recession has reduced the amount of waste being produced.
However, it also warns that the Government, local authorities and citizens must all work to ensure that when Ireland’s economy begins to recover, it does so with minimal environmental impact as our natural resources become more important to the nation’s coffers.
Dr Michael Lehane of the EPA said water and natural energy sources will grow in importance and could lead to Ireland becoming more self-sufficient and a net exporter of energy, but only if key targets are met in the coming years.
He said: “It is not about environment versus the economy. It is a strategic asset.”
Dr Lehane said tourism, food and forestry were just some of the sectors of prime importance to the country’s future, and steps needed to be taken to ensure they are not jeopardised.
He said creating a sustainable environment with responsibly managed resources was also a “reputational issue”, including ensuring that Ireland meets greenhouse gas targets under the Kyoto Agreement by 2020.
However, there are also what Dr Lehane called “legacy issues” from the boom, including ghost estates, many of which do not have completed sewage management systems.
The report was launched by Environment Minister Phil Hogan. It also finds that almost one-third of Ireland’s rivers are polluted, with many lakes and estuaries not meeting good status, while just a small percentage of animal habitats are in a favourable state.
It also says there are formidable challenges to meet in the coming years, particularly in the areas of water, climate change and nature protection.
Laura Burke, director general of the EPA, said Ireland was performing well in areas such as waste management and air quality but nature protection, water quality and climate change were areas of concern.
She also stressed that the environment impacts on our health and said “Ireland’s environment has an intrinsic value in its own right”.
The report identifies four major challenges for the future, namely:
* Valuing and protecting our natural environment;
* Building a resource-efficient low-carbon economy;
* Putting the environment at the centre of our decision making;
* Implementing environmental legislation.
The latter point includes issues such as preservation of bog, the subject of protests by turf-cutters.
The implementation of legislation is seen as a key provision, particularly given that the number of general cases brought against Ireland by the European Commission for failing to adhere to environmental laws has been greatly reduced in recent years.
Dr Lehane said: “The important thing is that we do not slip back into that mode again.”
The report calls for a new national waste strategy and a resource use and resource efficiency strategy, as well as sensitively sited wind farms and investment in renewable energy.
Dr Lehane said citizens needed to contribute, from recycling more to greater user of carpooling.
* The EPA has launched a new site to provide updates on some issues raised in the report: www.epa.ie/irelandsenvironment
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