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

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 Nutrients and Soil Fertility Issues surrounding soil fertility need to be addressed to enhance nutrient use efficiency particularly on our more intensive farms. Soils at optimum fertility and soil pH status recycle nutrients more efficiently, leading to a reduction in the inputs needed to maintain or increase levels of grass and crop production, while also reducing nutrient loss. This has wide-ranging positive outcomes for all of the environmental pressures identified and is a win-win solution from both an economic and an environmental standpoint. Policy decisions are now required to address and implement mitigation options; however, given the complex nature of the interface between soil, environmental and meteorological conditions a one-size- fits-all approach is unlikely to be successful across Ireland. Nutrients behave differently in the landscape depending on the soil type and the setting, for example, and actions to address nutrient loss must take this into account. In many areas the existing pressures have already exceeded the capacity of soil and water bodies to accept nutrients and sediment without causing significant harm. This provides the rationale for the adoption of region-specific integrated programmes of measures. Biodiversity Protection The decline and/or loss of biodiversity, including certain species of farmland birds and bees, butterflies and other insects, must be addressed as a matter of urgency. Current EU LIFE and EIP projects funded under the Rural Development Programme should serve as a significant stepping stone for the national roll-out of measures in which the maintenance and/or re-introduction of specific habitats are a prerequisite for sustainable food production. EPA-funded research has estimated that the annual value of animal pollination to home-produced crops in Ireland is €20-59 million per year, while the contribution of global pollination services to Ireland’s balance of trade is >€150 million per year. Farm and Catchment-level Approaches A more holistic farm-and-catchment-level approach encompassing all environmental pressures will be fundamental for making progress towards more environmentally sustainable and low-carbon food production. The implementation of mitigation measures will also require monitoring and verification to gain recognition as part of both EU and international reporting mechanisms, for example being able to prove that land is a net sink for carbon. A network of integrated catchment/ land use management plans informed by farm and nutrient management plans, catchment assessments and associated Areas for Action could form the basis of a more joined-up collaborative and cooperative approach to environmental management of our farms. This could provide the mechanism to reduce the cumulative environmental footprint of agricultural systems in Ireland, in an integrated way, covering areas such as biodiversity, greenhouse gases, climate change, air quality and water quality. Such an integrated approach could also identify and highlight the assimilative capacity of agricultural/ catchment landscapes to process nutrient loads associated with intensification. It would also contribute significantly to the branding and marketing of Irish agricultural produce at home and abroad. 346