ISN’T it ironic that in a world that’s becoming truly ’’global’’ because of the communications revolution, at the same time interest in what’s local seems to be intensifying.

WE hear a lot of talk about Ireland’s priceless environment and heritage.

Irish heritage sites are worth about €700m as tourist attractions, a study has found.

A plan to turn the past into the future of job creation will be unveiled today when the Heritage Council publishes its new five-year plan.

FROM old walkways in Drimoleague in west Cork, to wild flowers on Valentia Island, Co Kerry, heritage and the natural environment are being used increasingly to create jobs.

The Heritage Council has today rewarded three museums for their excellence.

RESEARCHERS, amateur historians and people tracing their family tree can find out where the records they are looking for might be held without leaving their desks or even lifting a phone.

VITAL conservation work on one of the country’s finest cathedrals could grind to a halt within weeks after savage cuts in heritage funding.

BUDGET cuts will have detrimental effects on our national heritage and close many small enterprises that are dependent on it, according to the Heritage Council.

A FARMING friend doesn’t rely solely on weather forecasts any more. Instead, he observes the behaviour of his animals.

FROM the birds and the bees and everything in between, children of all ages are being invited to indulge in their wild side and get back to nature as part of National Heritage Week.

MEDIEVAL challenges and surfing lessons ‘as Gaeilge’ are just two of the 1,100 events which will make up this year’s National Heritage Week which runs from August 21-29.

Loss of unique habitats such as bogs and wetlands and the threat from invasive species are the most significant dangers to wildlife in Ireland today, experts have warned.

WITH summer and, hopefully, prolonged spells of dry, sunny weather ahead, the thought of floods must be the last thing on people’s minds.

Devastating once-a-century coastal floods could happen every 10 years, climate change experts today warned.

NOW that the Celtic Tiger has died, the post mortems focus on the economic and property collapses, but the spotlight is beginning to be put on the Tiger’s physical effects on the landscape of Ireland.

Damien Enright on the threats we pose to biodiversity.

More than 1,000 cultural events have been planned to celebrate this year’s Heritage Week, it was revealed today.

DURING the current August bank holiday, it’s safe to say that more people are out walking than on any other weekend in the year.

Protecting Ireland's heritage is the fifth most important priority for public spending, a new report reveals today.

JUST as the presence, or absence, of fish can tell us a lot about the quality of water in rivers andlakes, butterflies are known as an indicator species for measuring changes in the environment.

DOOR-TO-DOOR canvassing is a great eye-opener, you might even say an education, for politicians in regard to changes in the countryside.

HERITAGE chiefs have drawn up the latest key battlefield in a crucial defence of the country’s increasingly threatened wildlife — your garden.

THE Heritage Council has called for a national landscape management plan for the Burren in Co Clare, after a report found that the region is seriously under threat from scrub overgrowth, which is destroying the habitats of rare flowers and plants.

NATURE and culture lovers are being given the chance to invest €3 million in their favourite heritage projects — whether it involves the restoration of a local monument or the protection of bumblebees in Wicklow.

Heritage campaigners were today invited to apply for a cut of €3m to help realise their projects.

FARMERS are often described as custodians of the environment, but that’s not always true. They could have an even more important future role as custodians — with more financial sweeteners being given to farmers that do most for our landscape, which has already suffered so much destruction.

Farmers must become guardians of the countryside to ensure that endangered flora and fauna and national monuments survive, it was claimed today.

The National Heritage Council today appealed to the public to apply for grants.

MORE than half the population feels it is important to protect our heritage, according to a survey.

ENVIRONMENT Minister Martin Cullen was accused yesterday of pulling a political stroke in seeking to locate the National Biological Records Centre in his home constituency of Waterford.