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Project title

A Resource Flow Analysis and Ecological Footprint of Ireland

Primary Funding Agency

Environmental Protection Agency

Co-Funding Organisation(s)

n/a

Lead Organisation

EnviroCentre Ltd

Lead Applicant

Robin Curry

Project Abstract

The sustainable development debate could be argued to have begun with the realisation that ever-increasing economic growth and the related consumption of resources could not be sustained and that the world was running up against environmental limits in terms of the carrying capacity of the planet as outlined in the 1972 publication i'Limits to Growthi. The growing recognition of the importance of depletion of non-renewable resources a deteriorating environment accelerating industrialisation rapid population growth and widespread malnutrition culminated in 1987 with the publication of 'Our Common Futurei which set out the following definition of sustainable development:i'Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable i- development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.iMajor world economies such as the European Union now recognise that continued economic growth can only be sustained if this growth is i'de-coupledi from resource use and the associated impacts upon the environment. Policy initiatives include the Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Resources and the adoption of a renewed sustainable development strategy in 2006 with a key objective: i'to promote sustainable consumption and production to break the link between economic growth and environmental degradationiAt a national level the review of Irelandis Sustainable Development Strategy published in 2002 refers specifically to the i'importance of decoupling economic growth from consumption of environmental resourcesi. The sustainable development strategy will be revised in the near future and with resource consumption at the heart of EU policy sustainable consumption and production is the key challenge for the next generation of Irish sustainable development policy. Sustainable Consumption and Production Evidence BaseThe process of moving towards sustainable consumption of resources and sustainable development can only be addressed through more effective integration of environmental concerns into other policy areas in particular economic development. The ultimate goal must be the integration of measurement and accounting methods for materials and the environment with those for the economy and society to enable indicators of resource use and environmental sustainability to be routinely incorporated into national and European policy development in the way that GDP and other economic indicators currently are.The recognition of the scale of the changes necessary to move the economy towards a more sustainable footing also underlines the need to underpin the management and decision making process with methodologies tools and techniques which provide a knowledge and evidence base about the interactions between our economies and the environment and the impacts of these interactions.

Grant Approved

�241,725.25

Research Hub

Sustainability

Research Theme

Socio-Economic Considerations

Start Date

01/01/2005

Initial Projected Completion Date

n/a