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

Chapter 16: Conclusions STEP UP TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND US AS IT IS UNDER INCREASING THREAT More accessible information on air quality is being made available to inform the public about local air quality. This information is vital for vulnerable populations. The National Air Quality Monitoring Programme now has 84 monitoring stations providing real-time monitoring data for a range of locations across the country. The number of stations in the network has more than trebled since 2017. There are many similarities between the solutions needed to tackle air pollution, climate action and noise pollution, particularly in relation to transport management. The integration of actions across these areas can bring many co-benefits. Strategic noise mapping provides details on transport-based noise exposure levels in our largest cities and in the vicinity of Ireland’s busiest roads, rail and at Dublin airport (Chapter 4). The Project Ireland 2040 National Planning Framework includes an objective covering the proactive management of environmental noise where it is likely to have significant adverse impacts on health and quality of life (Government of Ireland, 2019). However, national noise planning guidance is required to implement this objective and to ensure that the right development takes place in the right locations. The need for good acoustic design to reduce environmental noise should be a planning consideration for residential developments near noisy locations. SOE 6: Nature Safeguard Nature and Wild Places as a National Priority and to Leave a Legacy for Future Generations Nature and wild places are at risk in Ireland and need to be better safeguarded, both locally and in protected areas. The next Biodiversity Action Plan needs to be more ambitious and identify the pathway to transformative change for nature protection in Ireland. It needs to develop and further strengthen the protection of our national network of protected areas for future generations and to reverse wider current trends in biodiversity and habitat loss. There is unprecedented pressure on nature and wild areas (Chapters 6, 7 and 8). There are global tipping points around the extent of biodiversity loss and Ireland is not immune to these. Expert reports from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) have documented the status of Ireland’s habitats and species (DCHG, 2019a,b). In Ireland habitats listed under the Habitats Directive are still in decline, 85 per cent of EU protected habitats are reported as being in unfavourable status with 46 per cent demonstrating ongoing declines, with no discernible improvements in this area over the past 6 years since NPWS last reported on status. It will take time for the fruits of some measures to be translated into the reversal of trends, such as the considerable investment that has been directed into raised bog restoration. Nationally, Ireland needs to intensify its efforts to protect nature. According to the European Commission, Ireland needs to do more to ensure compliance with nature directives and protect designated areas (Chapter 15). While protected habitats are in decline, in relation to listed species, the NPWS have reported that the situation is mixed. What is positive is that some species, such as the buzzard and pine marten, are holding their own or even extending their range. But species such as the curlew continue to be at risk of extinction as a breeding bird in Ireland. Conservation schemes have been set up to try and prevent this from happening. The protection of the curlew is a real test case for conservation in Ireland. If conservation schemes are not successful in protecting an iconic species such as the curlew, which is steeped in Irish heritage and folklore, then the outlook for other species that are also dependent on habitats such as low intensity grazing areas, late cut meadows, open bogs and wetlands might not be favourable. 439