Environment JC 14 December 2001

1. The fifth meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in its Environment Sectoral Format was held in Dunadry, Co. Antrim on Friday, 14 December 2001. The Northern Ireland Executive was represented by Mr Sam Foster, MLA, Minister of the Environment, and Ms Bríd Rodgers, MLA, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development The Irish Government was represented by Mr Noel Dempsey, T.D., Minister for the Environment and Local Government.

2. The Council noted the award of a contract to Infinet Design to develop an interactive website of current environmental research. The Council noted the progress to date in developing the website, a prototype of which was shown to the Ministers.

3. At its Environment Sector meeting in Louth on 15 June 2001, the NSMC approved the planned work on a sample cross-border area for comparison of converted Land Cover Map (LCM) 2000 data and updated CORINE Land Cover (CLC) 2000 data. Today the Council noted the selection of the Dundalk/Newry area for this purpose. The Council also noted the progress in testing the compatibility of the separate Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) systems in Northern Ireland and the South for cataloguing environmental information, using water quality data.

4. At its first meeting in its Environment Sector in Belfast on 28 June 2000, the Council approved the establishment of a Working Group on Water Quality comprising officials from Environment Departments in Northern Ireland and the South, to consider:

At today's meeting the Council received a short presentation outlining progress on the development of proposals for the delineation of International River Basin Districts. The Council endorsed the work undertaken to date by the Working Group and the general approach being adopted by the group for the delineation of International River Basin Districts in relation to cross-border waters. The Council requested the Working Group to present recommendations as to the areas to be delineated, and agreed that the NSMC should continue to be kept advised of progress.

5. At the third meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council in its Environment Sector in Fermanagh in February 2001, the Council tasked officials to work together to identify options to encourage the expansion of waste recycling on an all-island basis and for a joint approach to marketing and manufacturing development for secondary materials and recyclates. The Council approved the establishment, membership, terms of reference and work programme of a steering group of officials in Northern Ireland and the South, to consider and develop a structured co-operative approach to a joint Market Development Programme. The Steering Group will be asked to report progress to the next meeting of the NSMC.

The Council also noted progress to date in identifying options to encourage the expansion of waste recycling, including proposals for the establishment of an all-island Community Recycling Network, and a joint North/South initiative to investigate areas of best practice within Europe, where recycling, and markets for recyclates have been successfully established.

The Council also noted the work in hand to assess the feasibility and desirability of introducing legislation in Northern Ireland governing the collection and recycling of waste farm plastics, similar to regulations recently introduced in the South.

6. The Council noted the establishment of a Steering Group to oversee the scoping study into the environmental impacts of agriculture. The Steering Group will be under the joint chairmanship of officials from the two Environment Departments, with members drawn from the two Agriculture Departments, Teagasc and the two Environment Agencies. The Council approved the arrangements for the recruitment and funding of two researchers who will work under senior scientific supervision provided by the relevant agencies in Northern Ireland and the South. The researchers will produce a joint report for presentation to the NSMC.

7. The Council noted and endorsed the existing level of North/South co-operation on information exchange and environmental education/awareness (through exhibition exchange, joint directories etc.) and confirmed its continued commitment to this co-operation. The Council agreed that officials of ENFO/EHS should work together to explore and develop opportunities for further information exchange and joint environmental education/awareness raising in areas of common interest.

Date of Next Meeting

8. The Council agreed that the next meeting in this sectoral format would take place in the South in March 2002.

Joint Secretariat

14th December 2001