The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rejected suggestions that farmers are being unfairly targeted in the drive to counter the deterioration in water quality.
In an exclusive interview with the Irish Farmers Journal, EPA director general Laura Burke said environmental pressures associated with farming were to blame in the majority of cases where water bodies were deemed to be at risk.
Figures compiled by the environmental regulator showed there had been a reduction in the problems associated with public water treatment plants but that the proportion of water bodies at risk due to farming had increased from 53% to 60% over the last five years.
However, the EPA boss admitted that the quality of Ireland’s rivers and lakes was significantly better than the European average, despite the slide in standards recorded since 2011-12.
“When we do our [water quality] assessments we look at the drivers [of contamination]. And in fact urban waste water had been a significant driver along with agriculture, but the impact of urban wastewater has reduced and the impact from agriculture has increased,” Burke maintained.
“Around 60% of the water bodies that are at risk, are at risk because of agricultural pressure and that has grown,” she said.
EPA data shows that 53% of the 1,460 water bodies deemed to be at risk in the River Basin Management Plan of 2018-2021 were under pressure due to farming. The latest plan puts the number of water bodies under pressure at 1,603 and claims that farming is the primary factor in more than 1,000 cases.
Burke identified inflated nitrates levels in water bodies as a serious challenge, particularly in the east and southeast, and pointed out that this has been a growing issue since 2011-12.
Retaining the 250kg of organic nitrogen (N) under the nitrates derogation could be a “challenge” in parts of the east and southeast, Burke admitted.
But she declined to pre-empt the outcome of the midterm review being undertaken of the derogation next year.
“We’ve been calling out the nitrates issue in the east and southeast of the country. Multiple reports from the EPA showed increased nitrates levels, and that potentially will be an issue,” Burke said.
However, it hasn’t been all bad news in terms of water quality. The EPA leader conceded that 53% of Ireland’s rivers and lakes are considered in satisfactory ecological condition, compared to an EU average of 44%.
In addition, she said recent studies showed that water quality had improved in around 325 water bodies. Unfortunately, a decrease in water quality was recorded in a further 200 or so rivers and lakes.
Greater supports for green transitioning
Farmers need guidance and support to transition from management systems that exclusively prioritise output to an approach which puts increased emphasis on the environment, EPA director general Laura Burke told the Irish Farmers Journal.
Pointing out that the rapid expansion in the dairy herd has been accompanied by a marked reduction in water quality standards and increased GHG emissions, Burke claimed that improved advice and supports could help inform and influence farm management practices and mitigate the environmental costs of intensive agriculture.
The EPA leader cited the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) as such an initiative which enabled farmers to grow cow numbers, while measuring and evaluating the environmental impact.
Importance of agriculture
“We [EPA] recognise the importance of agriculture to Ireland culturally, as well as economically and socially,” Burke maintained.
“We said publicly back in 2018 that we didn’t see how it was appropriate to continue to grow the dairy herd until you could demonstrate the overall sustainability [of the sector] and reduce emissions,” she said.
Challenge
She said the challenge now was to identify systems that enable agriculture to drive economic performance while protecting environmental and social sustainability.
Burke said greater supports will also have to be put in place to assist farmers who are transitioning to more environmentally friendly farming.
“If we are asking farmers to transform, then what are the incentives there, what are the supports? And it does come back to a fair and just transition,” she said.
“There were incentives to act in a particular way historically – economic policy incentives. If we want people to change then the economic incentives must be there now.
“There needs to be a fair and just transition for people to change,” Burke insisted.
Burke says carbon leakage is not a reason for inaction
The threat of carbon leakage does not justify rowing back on climate change measures, Burke insisted.
She said the various environmental challenges could not be considered in isolation and pointed out that the deterioration in Irish water quality proved that action had to be taken at a national level to protect the Irish environment.
The farm organisations have warned that reducing Irish food output is effectively false accounting given that Ireland is a very carbon-efficient food producer.
They argue that cutting Irish output will only result in the food being replaced by product from a country that is not as carbon-efficient as Ireland.
You can’t look at carbon separate from water quality, separate from ammonia emissions
However, this view was not accepted by the EPA director general.
“We need to be really careful on the efficiency argument,” Burke said.
“You can’t look at carbon separate from water quality, separate from ammonia emissions,” she said.
“Talking about carbon leakage is only one element of the problem. We have environmental issues here that need to be addressed.”
Water quality and emissions record weaken Ireland’s ‘green’ image
Ireland’s ability to market itself as a clean and green food producing island is being weakened by the farm sector’s poor performance on water quality and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Burke said.
She said Ireland will have to urgently tackle its farming-related GHG emissions and address its deteriorating water quality standards if the country wishes to continue trading on its green image.
The trends are going in the wrong direction
The EPA director pointed out that GHG emissions from agriculture had increased by 20% over the last decade, while the water quality in the country’s rivers and lakes – particularly in the east and southeast – continued to deteriorate as a consequence of increased pressure from farming.
“The trends are going in the wrong direction. And that is really important because we pride ourselves in agriculture in our clean, green image,” Burke said.
She maintained that Ireland’s actions on the environment needed to match the positive green image the country portrays internationally.
Issue
“Because we are promoting ourselves on the clean, green image, we have to be able to demonstrate it, and that’s the issue we’re having at the moment,” the EPA director explained.
“The EPA is all about the data, the science and the evidence,” Burke pointed out.
“So when we’re promoting ourselves as clean and green and we’re seeing a deterioration in water quality, and we’re seeing a deterioration in our greenhouse gas emissions [from agriculture], that’s what we mean when we say that the evidence doesn’t support the talk,” she said.
“We really need to move from debate and discussion to implementation and action,” Burke insisted.
The EPA director accepted that there had been some positive developments in addressing the dual challenges of climate change and water quality.
She cited the recent reduction in ammonia emissions as a result of the adoption of low-emission slurry spreading (LESS), and the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) that is being run by Teagasc, dairy processors and local authorities.
“Targeted measures at a local level do seem to be having an effect,” Burke conceded.
However, she said it would be in the long-term interests of the farm sector to speed up and broaden the adoption of available technologies such as LESS and protected urea.
“We have been talking about protected urea for a long time, we have been talking about multispecies swards; these are actions that can happen now. They don’t need additional research.
“They are on the ground now and can have a significant impact. They need to be driven.”
Burke sidesteps herd call
The EPA director general refused to be drawn on whether a reduction in the national herd will be required for Ireland to meet its GHG emissions reductions targets.
Laura Burke refused to be drawn on whether a reduction in the national herd will be required for Ireland to meet its greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets.
Burke also declined to comment directly when asked if GHG emissions reductions targets should be closer to the 22% favoured by the farm sector or the 30% upper limit being sought by environmental lobbyists.
Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan provoked fury among farmer representatives by stating that reductions in the national herd may be required for agriculture to meet its emissions reductions targets.
These targets are currently under discussion.
When asked to comment on cattle numbers and emissions’ reductions targets, Burke insisted that the calls on both issues were effectively “policy decisions” that had to be made at Government level.
She said that EPA’s role was to measure and report if the targets were delivered or not. Setting the targets and deciding how they are to be delivered is a matter for the Government, she added.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rejected suggestions that farmers are being unfairly targeted in the drive to counter the deterioration in water quality.
In an exclusive interview with the Irish Farmers Journal, EPA director general Laura Burke said environmental pressures associated with farming were to blame in the majority of cases where water bodies were deemed to be at risk.
Figures compiled by the environmental regulator showed there had been a reduction in the problems associated with public water treatment plants but that the proportion of water bodies at risk due to farming had increased from 53% to 60% over the last five years.
However, the EPA boss admitted that the quality of Ireland’s rivers and lakes was significantly better than the European average, despite the slide in standards recorded since 2011-12.
“When we do our [water quality] assessments we look at the drivers [of contamination]. And in fact urban waste water had been a significant driver along with agriculture, but the impact of urban wastewater has reduced and the impact from agriculture has increased,” Burke maintained.
“Around 60% of the water bodies that are at risk, are at risk because of agricultural pressure and that has grown,” she said.
EPA data shows that 53% of the 1,460 water bodies deemed to be at risk in the River Basin Management Plan of 2018-2021 were under pressure due to farming. The latest plan puts the number of water bodies under pressure at 1,603 and claims that farming is the primary factor in more than 1,000 cases.
Burke identified inflated nitrates levels in water bodies as a serious challenge, particularly in the east and southeast, and pointed out that this has been a growing issue since 2011-12.
Retaining the 250kg of organic nitrogen (N) under the nitrates derogation could be a “challenge” in parts of the east and southeast, Burke admitted.
But she declined to pre-empt the outcome of the midterm review being undertaken of the derogation next year.
“We’ve been calling out the nitrates issue in the east and southeast of the country. Multiple reports from the EPA showed increased nitrates levels, and that potentially will be an issue,” Burke said.
However, it hasn’t been all bad news in terms of water quality. The EPA leader conceded that 53% of Ireland’s rivers and lakes are considered in satisfactory ecological condition, compared to an EU average of 44%.
In addition, she said recent studies showed that water quality had improved in around 325 water bodies. Unfortunately, a decrease in water quality was recorded in a further 200 or so rivers and lakes.
Greater supports for green transitioning
Farmers need guidance and support to transition from management systems that exclusively prioritise output to an approach which puts increased emphasis on the environment, EPA director general Laura Burke told the Irish Farmers Journal.
Pointing out that the rapid expansion in the dairy herd has been accompanied by a marked reduction in water quality standards and increased GHG emissions, Burke claimed that improved advice and supports could help inform and influence farm management practices and mitigate the environmental costs of intensive agriculture.
The EPA leader cited the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) as such an initiative which enabled farmers to grow cow numbers, while measuring and evaluating the environmental impact.
Importance of agriculture
“We [EPA] recognise the importance of agriculture to Ireland culturally, as well as economically and socially,” Burke maintained.
“We said publicly back in 2018 that we didn’t see how it was appropriate to continue to grow the dairy herd until you could demonstrate the overall sustainability [of the sector] and reduce emissions,” she said.
Challenge
She said the challenge now was to identify systems that enable agriculture to drive economic performance while protecting environmental and social sustainability.
Burke said greater supports will also have to be put in place to assist farmers who are transitioning to more environmentally friendly farming.
“If we are asking farmers to transform, then what are the incentives there, what are the supports? And it does come back to a fair and just transition,” she said.
“There were incentives to act in a particular way historically – economic policy incentives. If we want people to change then the economic incentives must be there now.
“There needs to be a fair and just transition for people to change,” Burke insisted.
Burke says carbon leakage is not a reason for inaction
The threat of carbon leakage does not justify rowing back on climate change measures, Burke insisted.
She said the various environmental challenges could not be considered in isolation and pointed out that the deterioration in Irish water quality proved that action had to be taken at a national level to protect the Irish environment.
The farm organisations have warned that reducing Irish food output is effectively false accounting given that Ireland is a very carbon-efficient food producer.
They argue that cutting Irish output will only result in the food being replaced by product from a country that is not as carbon-efficient as Ireland.
You can’t look at carbon separate from water quality, separate from ammonia emissions
However, this view was not accepted by the EPA director general.
“We need to be really careful on the efficiency argument,” Burke said.
“You can’t look at carbon separate from water quality, separate from ammonia emissions,” she said.
“Talking about carbon leakage is only one element of the problem. We have environmental issues here that need to be addressed.”
Water quality and emissions record weaken Ireland’s ‘green’ image
Ireland’s ability to market itself as a clean and green food producing island is being weakened by the farm sector’s poor performance on water quality and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Burke said.
She said Ireland will have to urgently tackle its farming-related GHG emissions and address its deteriorating water quality standards if the country wishes to continue trading on its green image.
The trends are going in the wrong direction
The EPA director pointed out that GHG emissions from agriculture had increased by 20% over the last decade, while the water quality in the country’s rivers and lakes – particularly in the east and southeast – continued to deteriorate as a consequence of increased pressure from farming.
“The trends are going in the wrong direction. And that is really important because we pride ourselves in agriculture in our clean, green image,” Burke said.
She maintained that Ireland’s actions on the environment needed to match the positive green image the country portrays internationally.
Issue
“Because we are promoting ourselves on the clean, green image, we have to be able to demonstrate it, and that’s the issue we’re having at the moment,” the EPA director explained.
“The EPA is all about the data, the science and the evidence,” Burke pointed out.
“So when we’re promoting ourselves as clean and green and we’re seeing a deterioration in water quality, and we’re seeing a deterioration in our greenhouse gas emissions [from agriculture], that’s what we mean when we say that the evidence doesn’t support the talk,” she said.
“We really need to move from debate and discussion to implementation and action,” Burke insisted.
The EPA director accepted that there had been some positive developments in addressing the dual challenges of climate change and water quality.
She cited the recent reduction in ammonia emissions as a result of the adoption of low-emission slurry spreading (LESS), and the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) that is being run by Teagasc, dairy processors and local authorities.
“Targeted measures at a local level do seem to be having an effect,” Burke conceded.
However, she said it would be in the long-term interests of the farm sector to speed up and broaden the adoption of available technologies such as LESS and protected urea.
“We have been talking about protected urea for a long time, we have been talking about multispecies swards; these are actions that can happen now. They don’t need additional research.
“They are on the ground now and can have a significant impact. They need to be driven.”
Burke sidesteps herd call
The EPA director general refused to be drawn on whether a reduction in the national herd will be required for Ireland to meet its GHG emissions reductions targets.
Laura Burke refused to be drawn on whether a reduction in the national herd will be required for Ireland to meet its greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets.
Burke also declined to comment directly when asked if GHG emissions reductions targets should be closer to the 22% favoured by the farm sector or the 30% upper limit being sought by environmental lobbyists.
Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan provoked fury among farmer representatives by stating that reductions in the national herd may be required for agriculture to meet its emissions reductions targets.
These targets are currently under discussion.
When asked to comment on cattle numbers and emissions’ reductions targets, Burke insisted that the calls on both issues were effectively “policy decisions” that had to be made at Government level.
She said that EPA’s role was to measure and report if the targets were delivered or not. Setting the targets and deciding how they are to be delivered is a matter for the Government, she added.
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