Menu
The European Court of Justice today issued a damning finding against Ireland for its failure to implement the Habitats Directive. This ruling comes as no surprise to anyone following the deterioration of our natural environment and has consequences which are as devastating as they are far-reaching, going well beyond any threat of fines that may or may not transpire.
The result of this failure to implement the Habitats Directive, along with the many other directives and policies on nature protection, is plain for all to see. Irish people live in a landscape of extinction with near-empty seas, degraded lands and polluted waterways. It is not a dystopia because it is here and now.
The Irish Wildlife Trust acknowledges the efforts under the current government in addressing the structural failings behind our biodiversity crisis. However, how we use our land and sea is not changing to any substantial degree and without this we will continue to fail.
The IWT’s campaign officer, Pádraic Fogarty says, “Despite some positive initiatives we are not seeing the changes where it matters. We have whole sectors whose ecological footprints are out of control, particularly agriculture but also forestry, fishing and peat extraction. We have the solutions to address these issues in a way that is fair to people but the influence of these sectors has captured public policy to a degree that the public interest is set aside. The resistance shown by many politicians to the Nature Restoration Law is a demonstration of just how far this capture of public policy has developed. That must be addressed if we are to get a handle on this crisis.”