Topscsept17

Topical Science

Caring for our Environment This issue of ‘Topical Science’ looks at two reports concerning Ireland’s environment, one from the EPA, the other from An Bord Bia Issue No. 9, September 2017

Contents Page 1

Introduction

Page 2

The EPA report on water quality 2016.

Page 3

More on the EPA Report.

Page 4

The Origin Green Programme

The Author of ‘Topical Science’ is Margaret Franklin, FICI, Retired Chemistry lecturer and Immediate Past President of The Institute of Chemistry of Ireland.

Introduction Ireland is known as ‘The Emerald Isle’ and we like to bask in our green image. However, most of our environmental legislation has come about as a result of various EU Directives, such as the Water framework Directive, which dates from the year 2000 and provides an integrated river basin management for Europe. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/waterframework/index_en.html The report by the Environmental Protection Agency deals with the status of Irish waters in the period from 2010 to 2015 and shows how we measure up to the Directive. It can be downloaded here: http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/water/waterqua/wa terqualityinireland2010-2015.html

Origin Green: The World’s first Sustainability Programme in Agriculture and Food Production, operating on a National scale.

Read about it on page 4

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The EPA Report on Water Quality in Ireland 2010 - 2015 Two reports, published this year, should be of interest to anyone who cares about Ireland’s environment.

One is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Report on Water Quality in Ireland 2010 – 2015; the other is the report, published

by An Bord Bia (The Irish Food Board) on sustainability in Irish Agriculture, known as the ‘Origin Green’ project.

The EPA report gives an update on the quality of Irish waters. It covers groundwater, rivers, lakes, canals, estuaries and coastal waters. According to the report, there has been little change in quality of our surface waters since the period 2007–2009. It is unfortunate that planned improvements were not achieved.

Some Good News, Some not so Good!

But while the number of seriously polluted rivers has reduced, there has been a decline in the number of high status sites. It is also a matter of great concern that the number of fish kills has increased.

There were 97 reported incidents between 2013 and 2015, compared with 70 between 2007 and 2009.

The good news is that Ireland’s groundwater remains clean, with 91% of groundwater bodies being classified as having either good or high quality, under the Water framework Directive (WFD).

Another piece of good news is that there has been a reduction in the level of seriously polluted waters.

Only six of our rivers have shown ‘bad’ status, compared to 19 rivers in 2007 – 2009. The EPA says that this improvement is due to the ‘red dots; programme, which is a concerted effort, led by the EPA, to tackle the most polluted water bodies.

According to the report, 57% of rivers, 46% of lakes, 31% of estuarine waters and 79% of coastal waters are also achieving either good or high status under the Directive.

While the overall national picture is relatively stable, some water bodies have improved while others have deteriorated. It appears that not enough has been done to prevent deterioration of water quality.

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More about the EPA Report The EPA is currently assessing the reasons for these changes in water quality, both positive and negative, to help inform what actions are needed to protect and improve water quality.

Flooding on the Shannon at Athlone

Water Pollution Agriculture is an obvious source of water pollution. The EPA report states that the main culprits are (i) nutrient losses from agriculture (particularly phosphorus and nitrogen) and (ii) domestic wastewater.

Phosphorus levels had shown a decline in recent decades, but there have been increases in some rivers since 2014. Nitrogen inputs are more significant in estuaries and coastal waters.

The level of pollutants from hazardous substances is low, but some pesticides and herbicides have been detected at low levels during routine monitoring.

These include Mecoprop, MCPA and 2,4-D. However, the report goes on to say that compliance with Environmental Quality Standards is good, so that these substances are not a serious issue.

The EPA report sums up the situation in these words: “In summary, water status has been relatively static over the period of the first River Basin Management Plan and the improvements predicted during the first cycle have not been achieved. There are significant pressures on the water environment and there is also a clear challenge to be addresses in reversing the continuing loss of our highest status waters.�

Coastal water at Ennscrone, Co. Sligo 3

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The ‘Origin Green’ Programme

An Bord Bia launched the ‘Origin Green’ Programme in 2012.

It is the only sustainability programme in the world which operates on a national scale, uniting government, the agricultural sector and the food and drinks industry with common goals. Its aim was to have every farm, as well as every food and drinks manufacturing business in Ireland, on the road to sustainable production by 2016. It was an ambitious target and the 2016 report shows it is getting there. The report shows alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Sustainability means meeting the needs of the present population, without compromising the needs of future generations. As clean water is one of the aims of ‘Origin Green’, this is aligned with No 6 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

Other aims of ‘Origin Green’ are to reduce the carbon footprint, encourage biodiversity, protect animal health and welfare and ensure food safety and traceability. There is a focus on health and nutrition in food production, sustainable sourcing of raw materials and good waste management.

Targets have been set in all of these areas and they are well on the way to being met.

Among the achievements to date are the following: There have been 137,000 carbon footprint audits, 24,000 tonnes of waste recycled or recovered, 4,600 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill, over one millions cubic metres of water saved and 24.7 milliion individual data points collected on farms.

This is a laudable programme and one of which we can be proud. The report is inspiring to read.

It can be downloaded from the Origin Green website:

https://www.origingreen.ie/sustainabilityreport2016/

We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children 4