10.3 - Challenges

The main challenges for protecting, developing and managing the City’s green infrastructure are:

  • Mitigating and adapting to climate change: Specific challenges of climate change for Dublin City are examined in the Dublin City Climate Action Plan 2019 and include: decreased biodiversity, impacts of increased flooding, rising temperatures, increasingly higher sea levels, “urban heat island” effects and increases in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. Dublin City must restore and protect its natural habitats, particularly wetlands and woodlands, so as to reduce its carbon emissions and to increase resilience to the effects of climate change, such as coastal and river flooding.
  • Addressing biodiversity loss in the city: In 2019 Dáil Éireann declared a national biodiversity crisis. Ireland’s 6th National Report to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (2019)[1] called for a transformational change to conserve and restore biodiversity nationally and at EU and a global level. Ireland’s National Biodiversity Action Plan (2017-2021)[2] requires that there is no net loss of biodiversity through the implementation of plans and projects.
  • Getting people living and working in the city to be physically active: Ensuring the city facilitates, promotes and supports physical activity in line with the National Physical Activity Plan for Ireland 2016, the Sport Ireland Participation Plan 2021 – 2024 and the Active Cities Project.
  • Addressing historic green space deficits in the city centre and in other parts of the city: Retrofitting green infrastructure into existing built up areas to ensure that our densest urban areas support community access to quality public space and the benefits of green infrastructure.
  • Restoring the city’s rivers: Ensuring the city’s rivers attain ‘good ecological status’ in line with the EU Water Framework Directive and providing space for the natural functions of rivers.
  • Addressing high levels of soil sealing / impermeable surfaces in the city: Retrofitting nature based solutions including sustainable drainage systems (SuDs) into the city and the public realm.

Preventing the loss of existing mature trees: There is an ongoing difficulty in retention of existing trees on both public and private lands, due to impacts of development.

 

[1] DCHG (2019) Ireland’s 6th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. https://www.cbd.int/doc/nr/nr-06/ie-nr-06-en.pdf

[2] Dept. of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (2017) National Biodiversity Action Plan (2017-2021).