Nature Rising — Irish Environment & Land Use Review
Independent analysis of Ireland's land, water and biodiversity — data, policy, context.
The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland and Teagasc published their yearly review of the agricultural land market in late April. The report, which is now in its thirteenth year, gives a full picture of a land market that did well in 2025 but is now facing problems that started far from the farm. The main … Read More “Teagasc and SCSI Report: Farmland Values Rose 7 Per Cent in 2025, but the 2026 Outlook Is Cautious” »
A meeting in the Burren, County Clare, has recorded two types of stonewort that are rare. These were found among a total of six different types of stonewort at one site. The find was made at Poulroe in late August 2026. It was found during an event organised as part of the Targeted Aquatic Plant … Read More “Rare Stoneworts Recorded in the Burren During NPWS-Funded Survey” »
The Environmental Protection Agency published its Drinking Water Quality in Public Supplies 2025 report at the end of June 2026. The message is simple: the water supply in Ireland is still fine to drink. The compliance rates were pretty high, at 99.8% for microbiological parameters and 99.7% for chemical parameters. These figures cover over four … Read More “EPA Drinking Water Report: Supply Is Safe, but 35 Plants Remain on the ‘At Risk’ List” »
The EPA has released new figures showing that nitrogen levels in Ireland’s major rivers carried on rising in the first half of 2026. The percentage increase may be small, but it’s the second year in a row that we’ve seen an increase. If you’re into water quality, farming policy or the health of Irish estuaries, … Read More “EPA Data: Nitrogen Levels in Irish Rivers Rose 4.3% in 2026 – What It Means” »
The National Parks and Wildlife Service has found an Asian hornet nest near Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork was quick to jump in and lend a hand. He used little tracking devices on some live insects. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the NPWS said that the nest was found just a few hours … Read More “Asian Hornet in Cork: How NPWS Tracked and Located the Nest in 2026” »
The Teagasc report published in late September 2026 has a title that is almost too formal: “The 2026 Drought and What Happened Afterwards: Impact and Recovery in the Irish Outdoor Vegetable Sector.” The numbers inside are less restrained. Crops that don’t have access to water lost 25 to 40 per cent of their yield and … Read More “Teagasc: Irish Vegetable Growers Face a Water Resilience Gap After 2026 Drought” »
