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

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 Figure 6.6  Percentage of species impacted by pressure/threat categories of medium and high importance (Source NPWS, 2019) Agriculture Forestry Extraction of resources Energy production processes and infrastructure Transport systems Residential, commercial, industrial and recreational infrastructure and areas Extraction and cultivation of biological living resources Other human intrusions Alien and problematic species Mixed source pollution Human-induced changes in water regimes Natural processes Natural catastrophes Climate change No pressures or pressures unknown 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 % of species impacted Threats Pressures Human population growth, land use change, unsustainable consumption and overexploitation of resources magnify these pressures. A limited awareness of biodiversity, its benefits and its economic value to society by both the public and policymakers creates further impacts. Agriculture Changes in intensification of agricultural practices have impacted on biodiversity. Drainage of land, fertiliser application, clear-felling, undergrazing and abandonment of land are known pressures that, although local in extent, may influence a much wider area, especially if they affect groundwater supplies or nearby watercourses (Chapter 13). The decline in bees, butterflies and other insects is largely the result of monoculture and the drive for ever-increasing levels of productivity, characterised by a loss or neglect of hedgerows, farmland edges and scrub (Chapter 13). The plans for the development of a new 10-year strategy for the agriculture and food sector for the period to 2030, to follow on from Food Wise 2015, presents an opportunity to address the negative effects on the environment that have occurred in recent years with respect to biodiversity, water quality, greenhouse gas emissions and ammonia emissions. The EPA has outlined these challenges in its 2020 submission to DAFM in relation to the strategy. 10 10 http://www.epa.ie/pubs/epasub/epasubmissionontheagri- foodstrategy2030.html 138