The book charts how the grim failure to manage our natural resources has impoverished our country. In Ireland, the model of nature protection follows the lines of ‘designation – procrastination –fulmination – compensation’. This formula has left nature being seen as a problem, not a solution. Overfishing, industrial-scale farming, and pollution have decimated wildlife habitats and populations. In a single lifetime, vast shoals of herring, rivers bursting with salmon, and bogs alive with flocks of curlew and geese have all become folk memories. Coastal and rural communities are struggling to survive; the foundations of our tourism and agricultural sectors are being undermined. The lack of political engagement frequently sees the state in the European Court of Justice for breaches of environmental law.

But the book also reveals the possibilities for the future, describing how we can fill our seas with fish, the farm in tune with nature, and create forests that benefit both people and wildlife. It calls for the return of long-lost species like wild boar, cranes, and wolves, showing how nature and wildlife can recover hand in hand. Prioritising the natural world will benefit our health, wellbeing, and livelihoods. Insightful and ultimately hopeful, Whittled Away explores our past and the opportunities for our future.

Price €19.99 (plus postage and packaging)

50% of all proceeds will be donated to the IWT.

The Collins Press www.collinspress.ie