Water pollution is a “serious problem in Ireland” according to a European report which has identified agriculture as “the main cause of water pollution”.
The report by the climate innovation initiative, EIT Climate-KIC, highlights that water ecological health “is not satisfactory in 50% of Irelands’ rivers, 31% of lakes, 64% of estuaries, and 19% of coastal waters”.
In its Dealing with Climate Change and Sustainability Targets report, EIT Climate-KIC outlined that the run-off of nitrogen and phosphate from agricultural land resulting in nutrient pollution, was leading to “excessive plant and algal growth”.
“The processes affects fish and other water organisms, with devastating effects for both biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nearly 1,500 water bodies have been identified as being at risk of not meeting their environmental objectives.
The report also identified synthetic nitrogen fertiliser as one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and stated:
“Especially intensive livestock farming is responsible for these detrimental impacts, and the increased herd sizes and fertiliser use over the last decade has led to increasing nitrogen levels in the water.”
Recommendations
In its latest climate report EIT Climate-KIC also examined selected climate mitigation measures for the Irish agri-food sector.
It outlined that the livestock sector is the largest contributor of GHG emissions in the Irish agri-food sector, contributing to about 80% of GHG emissions.
But the report also highlighted that “extensive livestock farming” – based on low-input production systems and “a lower amount of animals per hectare” – compared to current systems would lead to reduced net GHG emissions.
In relation to tillage farms, “synthetic nitrogen fertiliser usage can be decreased or even eliminated by incorporating nitrogen-fixing plants into crop rotations or using these as cover crops and incorporating them later as green manure for the soil”.
In its latest report, the EIT Climate-KIC detailed, in general, a number of potential climate mitigation measures for the agri-food sector and set out how these measures could contribute to improving water quality.
These included:
- Extensive ruminant farming (with reduced herd size) which could deliver better water quality due to lower synthetic nitrogen fertiliser application and leeching;
- Methane-reducing feed additives for ruminants which could deliver potential better water quality in coastal waters through reduced eutrophication;
- Nitrogen from crop diversification and nitrogen-fixing plants which would lower synthetic nitrogen fertiliser leaching to local water bodies;
- Agroforestry design can prevent nutrient runoff;
- Paludiculutre which can improve water quality, through purifying and reduced mobility of pollutants;
- Plant-based production systems which reduces reliance on nitrogen fertlisers.