UK Environmental Policy and the Politics of the Environment in Northern Ireland in the 1990s

Abstract

There are two reasons for including a chapter on Northern Ireland in this volume on UK environmental policy in the 1990s. The first has to do with the inherent interest of examining environmental action and legislation in a politically divided and economically struggling area. The familiar arguments about environment versus jobs take on a new salience in this context, while the challenges of sustainable development seem all the greater in a situation where even political stability may not be sustainable. Second, Northern Ireland can stand as an example — albeit a stark one — of regional differences within the UK. Such differences may well influence the appropriateness of, and the local responses to, environmental policies, which are generally devised on a UK-wide basis. Although the details of a Welsh or Scottish perspective on UK environmental policy would differ from the present account, this chapter will serve to indicate that centralised UK environmental priorities, targets and practices may not appear to be as reasonable or compelling at the periphery as they do at the centre. The reasons for centralisation, both political and ideological on the part of the UK Government and administrative on the part of the EU, are explained in other chapters. The Northern Irish case offers a perspective from the periphery.