Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Agenda 21 - bringing home the Earth Summits

One product of 1992's Rio Earth Summit (also know as the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development 1992) was an action plan for the 21st Century, called Agenda 21. Ireland was one of many countries to sign the charter. In doing so Ireland committed to the principles of sustainable development and increased local action on initiatives such as recycling and reducing energy use. While one of the major aims of Local Agenda 21 is to protect fragile ecosystems and environments, its broad remit ranges from fair wealth distribution and human rights to encouraging sustainable travel.

In each country, Local Agenda 21 is driven at both Government and local levels. According to Peter Doran, a member of Northern Ireland's Local Agenda 21 Advisory Group:

Local Agenda 21 is about bringing the United Nations 'Earth Summits' (Rio in 1992 and New York in 1997) home to our communities.
One of his articles, What is Local Agenda 21?, lists 14 target achievements of the plan. Of these, the one that's closest to Only One Ireland's heart is that:

The diversity of nature is valued and protected.
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The island of ireland

Once upon a time, and for 15000 years, ice a mile high blanketed Ireland. When the lingering Ice Age finally released and the Irish ice departed it left a landscape scoured. Across land bridges linking Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe plants and animals arrived to colonise the new lowlands, mountains and valleys. The world’s ice continued to melt, the sea levels to rise, and some 8000 years ago Ireland became the island we now know, accounting for just 0.01% of the world's total land area and the most westerly point of Europe.

Though at Alaskan latitudes, the country's climate is tempered, due partly to the neighbouring waters of the Gulf Stream and partly the prevailing southwesterlies that veering and backing make landfall on our sodden coast. These offerings from the Atlantic mean it is never too hot, never too cold. But without doubt it is wet. Rain lingers year round, never far away, though is most frequent in winter, the western counties and, inevitably, on the day of your parade.