It is hard to understand why there is not a landscape law to preserve our heritage, writes Michael Starrett
Ireland needs a Landscape (Ireland) Act. Not an Act to stifle development, not an Act to fossilise our environment, but an Act which focuses directly on what is Ireland's most important asset - where all of us live, work and play and which contains all our natural and cultural resources, ie our landscape.
Why we don't have such legislation already is hard to comprehend. Providing it would be good for everyone who lives on or visits this island.
The signposts have been pointing us in this legislative direction for a long time. As far as the future well- being of our landscape is concerned, we are most definitely at a major crossroads and have to make a major choice.
Experience dictates that the choice should be the route marked "legislation" and that if we take it everyone will benefit.
Why? Because it would give us a focus and structure in which we can work to resolve all those current issues which today seem to make such graphic headlines.
These include loss of farm incomes, decline in rural tourism, decline in quality of life and many others too numerous to mention.
Why? Because it will bring us into line with every other European country, and it will allow us to live up to the commitments we undertook when Ireland ratified the European Landscape Convention.
Recent articles in the media have highlighted concerns about our landscape. You really must have had your head in a fertiliser bag if you are not aware of the coverage of our agricultural landscape.
The decline in farmers, the decline in farm incomes, the age profile, the nitrate directive, the Common Agricultural Policy, the World Trade Talks - they have all loomed and doomed large.
Similarly, the urbanisation of our tourism industry and the impact on rural economies, the loss of traditional bed and breakfast accommodation, difficulties of access to the hills and a lack of provision for countryside recreation have all been cited as contributory factors to the difficulties of keeping rural economies diverse, healthy and dynamic.
In short, a healthy and dynamic rural economy equates to a diverse, healthy and dynamic landscape.
That bag over your head would need to be particularly thick to leave you unaware of the impact of new infrastructure on our landscape (Tara), to say nothing of the debate on rural housing (everywhere), village design and heaven forbid, sustainable development.
Let's face it, landscape is very relevant to our everyday lives. We all live, work and play in a landscape. Surely something so significant deserves to be looked after in the best way possible and be the subject of a particular focus. Our democracies work through legislation, which is what our leaders use to focus, to provide finance and structures to make the democracy work. It all sounds so simple.
If I look at the last 10 years, the case for new legislation for our landscape has been carefully constructed to a point where the blindingly obvious decision now needs to be taken. This is not to criticise any existing systems or legislative provisions, such as our Planning Acts. It is just to say that if we are to resolve current issues, new approaches and new legislation are needed.
Imagine a world where an area where you lived could be designated under legislation.With the designation would come a package of measures and a commitment to develop and work to an agreed set of objectives. These would focus on retaining and enhancing the quality of the landscape in which you live.
The character of the area (what makes it different and diverse) would be agreed and a structure would be put in place to work specifically towards, and allow, development of that character.
This would be through a package of rural development (including tourism) measures related to keeping that landscape vibrant, diverse, dynamic and healthy by associating it with a vibrant, diverse, dynamic and healthy rural economy. A group of staff dedicated to the task (and not responsible for a plethora of other activities) would be working to make it happen.
They would also be accountable if it didn't.
Imagining that world is not so far-fetched. The Heritage Council has already offered assistance to one local authority to develop the model. All it has to do is say yes.
I have just completed three years as president of a European federation which has more than 300 members in 40 countries all committed to the conservation, management and development of their landscapes. They make it work. Why can't we?
Michael Starrett is chief executive of the Heritage Council.