Environment in Focus 2002: Key Environmental Indicators for Ireland

This report is the second national environmental indicator report for Ireland. BACKGROUND Environmental indicators are key statistics that summarise a particular environmental issue. Their strength is in delivering concise, scientifically credible information, that can be readily accessed by decision makers. In essence their purpose is to simplify, to quantify and to communicate. In recent years the use of environmental indicators has emerged in the international arena as a powerful tool that can assist in measuring environmental performance and progress towards sustainable development and in influencing environmental policy. However, indicators may also have limitations, as they require the availability of high quality data that are updated on a regular basis. In 1999, the EPA published the first national environmental indicators report for Ireland, entitled Environment in Focus. The report provided, for the first time, an assessment and synopsis on the environment in Ireland through the use of key environmental indicators. It presented an overall summary of environmental quality in the State and highlighted the main environmental problems and issues that needed to be addressed at a national level. Sector-based environmental indicator reports were prepared by the EPA for the transport sector in 2000 and for the rural environment in 2001. This present report, Environment in Focus 2002, is the second national environmental indicator report for Ireland. Its main objectives are as follows: - to help inform policy makers, both in the environmental field and across the key economic sectors, of the main environmental challenges to be addressed; - to assist in evaluating the impact on the environment of existing national policies and measures; - to assess Ireland's progress in meeting certain international obligations; and - to help guide further environmental policy development where needed. At the international level most countries in the EU have developed and published indicator-based reports on the environment or on sustainable development in general. International organisations such as the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publish regular environmental indicator reports as well as sector-based indicator reports - most notably in relation to the transport sector. The European Commission has also promoted the use of environmental indicators and has developed a small set of key 'headline' environmental indicators, which are focused on measuring the progress and effectiveness of the EU's main environmental policy areas. CONTENT AND FRAMEWORK In 2000, the EPA published its State of the Environment Report Ireland's Environment: A Millennium Report. This assessment reviewed how Ireland's record economic growth has given rise to accelerated pressures on the environment and it identified a number of environmental challenges facing Ireland as a result. The five main challenges identified were: - reducing pollution of inland waters; - managing waste and preventing litter; - protecting the urban environment, particularly from transport impacts; - controlling greenhouse gas emissions; and - protecting natural resources. The millennium assessment also confirmed that what may have been regarded as the 'traditional' concerns, relating to industrial and sewage discharges, are coming under control and being dealt with through national and EU measures. The main concern now is in relation to the effects of other sectors, in particular transport and agriculture. The selection of the 50 indicators for Environment in Focus 2002 has centred around evaluating Ireland's progress in meeting these five key environmental challenges and assessing the effects on the environment of the main strategic economic sectors. Measuring Ireland's progress in meeting its international environmental obligations has also been an important influence. This report is structured around the internationally recognised Driving force - Pressure - State - Impact - Response (DPSIR) framework. This framework is based on the concept of cause and effect and reflects the interaction between the socio-economic and environmental systems. The report is divided into four parts. The first three follow the general causal chain: (i) from developments in society and the economy, (ii) through to the environmental pressures which can derive from them and (iii) the effects that these pressures have on the state of the environment and the resulting impacts on human health and biodiversity. The final part is focused on the responses designed to curtail environmental pressures and to minimise impacts on the environment. Summary of Main Findings WATER QUALITY In Ireland, one of the most serious environmental pollution problems is the over-enrichment of surface waters by the nutrients phosphorus and, to a lesser extent, nitrates. This pollution poses a threat to Ireland's game fish population and has resulted from excessive inputs of these nutrients from a number of sources. However, estimates indicate that agriculture is responsible for the largest inputs of phosphorus and nitrates to waters. While the most recent assessment of river water quality in Ireland shows an improvement in water quality for the first time since surveys began, over 30 per cent of river channel is still considered to be polluted to some extent. It is notable that the observed improvements have mainly occurred in catchments that have had intensive management programmes implemented in the past three to five years. To minimise water pollution from agricultural sources there is a need to promote better farmyard management, to reduce the over-application of fertilisers and to implement nutrient management planning on a broad scale. In relation to groundwater quality, many areas in the country show an unacceptably high level of bacteriological contamination. Groundwaters in counties Carlow, Cork, Kerry, Louth and Waterford have been identified by a panel of experts as being polluted or susceptible to pollution by nitrates from agricultural sources. In 2001 an assessment (in the context of the nitrates and the urban waste water treatment Directives) was made of the trophic status of estuaries and bays in Ireland based on survey data gathered over a five-year period. On the basis of this assessment, thirteen sections of tidal waters in Ireland were considered to be eutrophic and four others were considered to be potentially eutrophic. In response to these developments, thirty new water bodies have been designated as "sensitive areas" requiring nutrient removal in relation to discharges from large urban wastewater facilities and proposals are being developed to strengthen the application of good agricultural practice in all areas. Bathing water quality continues to be of a high standard and compares favourably at EU level. The recent EU water framework Directive provides for a more integrated approach to controlling water pollution. Its full implementation will be a major policy challenge for Ireland, but should ultimately lead to significantly improved water quality and water management across the State. WASTE MANAGEMENT Waste remains one of the most difficult areas of modern environmental management. Despite increasing widespread awareness and concern around the waste issue, almost 2.3 million tonnes of household and commercial waste were generated in Ireland in 2000. This represents an increase of over sixty per cent in five years and it is now estimated that almost 600 kg of waste is produced by each person in the State every year. Irish waste management practice is still heavily reliant on landfill as a means of disposal. Currently 87.8 per cent of the household and commercial waste stream is disposed to landfill with the remaining 12.2 per cent recycled. While

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements v Introduction vi SOCIETAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 1 Indicator 1: Population 3 Indicator 2: Population Distribution 4 Indicator 3: Tourism 5 Indicator 4: Livestock Numbers 6 Indicator 5: Fertiliser Sales 7 Indicator 6: Industrial Production 8 Indicator 7: Unemployment Rates 9 Indicator 8: Vehicle Numbers 10 Indicator 9: Transport Patterns 11 Indicator 10: Energy Demand and Economic Growth 12 Indicator 11: Energy Consumption by Sector 13 PRESSURES ON THE ENVIRONMENT 15 Indicator 12: Energy Efficiency 17 Indicator 13: Peat Extraction 18 Indicator 14: Housing Completions 19 Indicator 15: Greenhouse Gas Emissions 20 Indicator 16: Emissions of Sulphur Dioxide 21 Indicator 17: Emissions of Nitrogen Oxides 22 Indicator 18: Emissions of VOC and Carbon Monoxide 23 Indicator 19: Recovery Rates of Packaging Waste 24 Indicator 20: Household and Commercial Waste 25 Indicator 21: Industrial Waste Arisings and Disposal 26 Indicator 22: Remaining Landfill Capacity 27 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY 29 Indicator 23: Airborne Particulate Matter (PM10) 31 Indicator 24: Smoke Concentrations in Urban Areas 32 Indicator 25: Fish Kills 33 Indicator 26: River Water Quality 34 Indicator 27: Nitrates in Rivers 35 Indicator 28: Estuarine Water Quality 36 Indicator 29: Lake Water Quality 38 Indicator 30: Drinking Water Quality 39 Indicator 31: Bathing Water Quality 40 Indicator 32: Groundwater Quality 41 Indicator 33: Quality of Shellfish Areas 42 Indicator 34: Radioactivity on Ireland's North-east Coast 43 Indicator 35: Birds of Conservation Concern 44 Indicator 36: Forest Cover 46 Indicator 37: Species Planted in Irish Forests 48 Indicator 38: Journey Times in Dublin 49 Indicator 39: Noise and Odour Complaints 50 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT 51 Indicator 40: IPC and Waste Licences 53 Indicator 41: Ecological Network and Spatial Planning 54 Indicator 42: Urban Waste Water Treatment 56 Indicator 43: Litter Fines and Prosecutions 57 Indicator 44: Rural Environmental Protection Scheme 58 Indicator 45: Nature Protection 60 Indicator 46: Expenditure on Environmental Services 61 Indicator 47: Water Framework Directive 62 Indicator 48: Renewable Energy 64 Indicator 49: Organic Farming 66 Indicator 50: Economic & Environmental Competitiveness 67 Information Sources 69 Acronyms & Abbreviations 71 User Comment Form 73