EPA - Ireland's Environment, An Integrated Assessment - 2020

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 One important positive initiative to note in relation to land use is ‘high nature value’ farming. This differs from ‘regular’ farming as it tends to have a wealth of biodiversity associated with it and can support important species and habitats. Teagasc-funded research (the Ideal-HNV project) 3 has produced a high nature value farming map. High nature value farming mostly occurs in the west of Ireland and in upland areas. It often coincides with locations of high status water areas (Moran and Sullivan, 2017). Poor land management in these areas can greatly impact sensitive habitats, species and waters. This EPA research identified the need to support more of these locally driven initiatives, which have multiple environmental benefits and also support sustainable farming practices and local communities. For more information on agriculture in Ireland, see Chapter 13. Topic Box 5.2 Progress in Soils Management Research The Terra Soil project 4 was launched by the Geological Survey Ireland and Teagasc in 2018. Using thousands of soil samples combined with geochemical data, the project aims to support better farming efficiencies by helping farmers make more targeted and science- based decisions. Teagasc’s SQUARE project continues to develop a toolbox for farmers to assess soils and the impacts of soil degradation (Bacher et al. , 2018, 2019; Bondi et al. , 2018; Emmet-Booth et al. , 2018, 2019). Teagasc recommends that soil-specific management measures based on soil type are needed. Teagasc has also published a soil management manual to assist farmers in this regard (Teagasc, 2013). The DANÚ Farming Group, 5 a European Innovation Partnership project for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI) funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, combines the best practices of conventional and organic farming. This project places an emphasis on having productive soils that display high levels of biological activity. The outcomes of these projects, if implemented correctly, should result in smarter agriculture, fewer environmental impacts and fewer wasted resources. 3 https://idealhnv.wordpress.com/ 4 https://www.gsi.ie/en-ie/programmes-and-projects/tellus/activities/ tellus-product-development/smart-agriculture/Pages/Terra-Soil.aspx 5 https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en/find-connect/projects/ dan%C3%BA-farming-group-project-plan-biological-farming Peatlands Currently, many peatlands, including those protected under national and European legislation, are in an unfavourable state, but if they were restored, they could play a key role as carbon sinks and provide a space for nature. Peatlands provide many important ecosystem services, including maintaining biodiversity, carbon storage, supporting agriculture and forestry, water regulation and flood attenuation. Intact peatlands play an important role in sequestering and storing CO 2 from the atmosphere. If, however, they are degraded or dried out, peatlands become oxidised, which leads to CO 2 being released into the atmosphere. A report from the Joint Committee on Climate Action, Climate Change: A Cross-party Consensus for Action (Houses of the Oireachtas, 2019), acknowledged that our peatlands are currently a large net source of carbon emissions. This is because we have already drained and degraded most of our peat bogs. Our peatlands continue to be impacted by land drainage for agricultural purposes, afforestation and peat extraction. The latest national emissions inventory for Ireland (EPA, 2020a) reported total peat-related greenhouse gas emissions of 1.15 million tonnes CO 2 equivalent in 2018. In April 2018, peatland restoration was highlighted as a priority by the Citizen’s Assembly (Citizen’s Assembly, 2018). Peat extraction for use as fuel within power generation and domestic heating, and its use within horticulture, are unsustainable. Any plans to halt peat extraction must, however, include services and resources to support local communities once peat extraction operations cease. In this context, it is worth noting that Bord na Móna has stopped the extraction of peat for electricity generation purposes and Coillte has also engaged in peatland restoration in recent years. Currently, it is government policy that domestic turf cutters are permitted to cut turf if there is no impact on the conservation objectives of bogs. The Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has reported a slight decrease in turf cutting within the current network of 62 Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and 36 retained Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs); however, activity at raised bogs continued at 22 SACs and 6 NHAs in 2018. Active raised bogs (an Annex I priority habitat) continue to have an overall ‘bad’ conservation status, with a continuing deteriorating trend; similarly, the overall conservation status of blanket bogs is described as ‘unfavourable to bad’, with a continuing deteriorating trend (DCHG, 2019a). 110