On this edition of Enviro:

The Team interviewed Friends of the Irish Environment Tony who critiqued the proposed Irish Government new planning bill. He pointed out that it did not provide for adequate public participation and mentioned other aspects of the bill.

Election candidates, David Healy and Brian Garrigan

Studio interviews with two candidates who were seeking election to Dail Eireann, David Healy of the Green Party and Brian Garrigan Independent both Dublin Bay North. The team covered a range of topics and had extensive discussions on each candidates environmental and related topics. We referred to the homeless Eritrea man who was sleeping in a tent on the Grand Canal and was ’bull-dozed’ apparently by operatives of the state body ‘Waterways’ and left him in a very serious condition in hospital. We had a short discussion on migrants where different views were expressed and David pointed out that Eritrea had one of the most oppressive regimes in the world. David and Brian made suggestions as to how to solve the homeless and other issues and Joe Dunne took part in a heated exchange on the subject of migrants.

Bolivia’s forest destruction

The export of mara wood from Bolivia has been prohibited since 2011. That decision was made by the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Authority, part of the Bolivian Ministry of Environment. Mara is currently listed in Appendix 2 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), so cross-border trade in the wood is strictly regulated in other countries. The species is also classified as vulnerable on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Madidi National Park is Considered one of the most biodiverse natural areas in the world,and is home to more than 10% of the planet’s bird species and an estimated 10,000 different kinds of butterflies and moths, with frequent discoveries of species new to science. Both Amboro and Madidi parks are in the Amboro-Madidi Biological Corridor, which has high ecological value and is part of the larger Tropical Andes Biodiversity Hotspot. Source: Mongabay EDUARDO FRANCO BERTON    https://news.mongabay.com/2020/01/rare-trees-are-disappearing-as-wood-pirates-log-bolivian-national-parks/

The team also referred to the fact that Evo Morales president of Bolivia who was deposed in a recent coup had made crimes against nature punishable in the constitution. Joe referred to the work of Polly Higgins who sought to have crimes against the earth which she described as Ecocide enshrined in the UN’s crimes against humanity.   

Presenter producer: John Haughton

Panellist: Joe Dunne 

Broadcast: 03/02/2020