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

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 The recent United Nations Global Environment Outlook – GEO-6 report (UN Environment, 2019) stated that biodiversity is in crisis. This assessment found that biodiversity policy responses at all levels have been insufficient or too slow to reverse the decline in global biodiversity. The report asserted that the cost of inaction is large and escalating in terms of global biodiversity and that increased investment in conservation is critical. The Global Outlook Biodiversity 5 report states that humanity is now at a crossroads with regard to the legacy it leaves for future generations and that bold, interdependent actions are needed across a number of fronts to follow a pathway to a sustainable future (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2020). The National Biodiversity Indicators: 2017 Status & Trends report (NBDC, 2017) summarised the trends in the health of our species and habitats, as well as examining our relationship with nature. The indicators cover areas where improvements are needed to conserve nature including habitats designated under EU law that are of ‘inadequate’ or ‘bad’ status and also species protection. While awareness, knowledge and action to protect biodiversity in Ireland are growing these actions are happening too slowly for us to meet our biodiversity targets. Protection of nature is still a key challenge. The next section outlines the overall trends and status for nature but local issues are also a problem such as site specific habitat damage, hedge cutting and protection of birds of prey (Table 6.1). These are also areas that need to be tackled and enforced in order to improve wildlife and habitat protection. The National Parks & Wildlife Service has reported a total of 338 incidents involving birds of prey between 2007 and 2019. 2 A wide range of causes are listed, including poisoning, persecution, fence, road and turbine collisions. Incidents have been recorded in every county of Ireland. Incidents involving illegal acts or misuse of poisons. Poison incidents accounted for 71.5 per cent of such cases, while shootings accounted for 28 per cent and trapping/ mutilation accounted for 0.5 per cent of such cases. All regularly breeding native Irish raptor species were confirmed to have suffered some form of poisoning, persecution or other direct anthropogenic non-habitat related cause of injury or mortality. It was also confirmed in October 2020 that a new Wildlife Crime Unit will be established within NPWS that will be involved in tackling these issues. 2 https://merrionstreet.ie/en/News-Room/Releases/NPWS_publishes_ review_of_incidents_impacting_birds_of_prey_2007-2019.html Table 6.1  Numbers of environmental complaints and bird of prey incident reports sent to the National Parks and Wildlife Service in 2018 and 2019 (Source: NPWS) COMPLAINT/INCIDENT NUMBER Complaint a Environmental/habitat damage/ destruction 25 Habitat damage during a development 6 Habitat management 1 Animal welfare 2 Hedge cutting 455 Birds of prey incident report b 60 a Based on complaints received through the Email address: nature .conservation@chg.gov.ie. b Not all bird of prey incidents involved illegal activity. EU Member States are required to monitor habitats and species across Europe that are considered to be threatened and that are listed in the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). The conservation status of habitats and species is assessed at a national level, not just in protected areas. The third report on the status of habitats and species in Ireland, prepared by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS, 2019), stated that, although most of Ireland’s listed habitats can be classified as having an unfavourable status, our species are doing better, with the majority having a favourable status. Freshwater species are seen to be most at risk, generally from water pollution. 130