Rational
The CDP draft currently has no references to social enterprises or cooperatives as potential drivers of sustainable development despite these organisations being best placed to do so. A strong social enterprise sector in the county can support Kildare Councils aim to achieve the SDG’s by 2030 as they work across multiple sectors including education, health, food and environmental action.
Wool is classed as a waste produce, and is being burnt on European farms as currently the global wool price has bottomed out. The drive to implement a Just Transition and change farming family practises to become regenerative and create resilience communities post Brexit is being drawn up in Ireland with the new https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/ed10d-just-transition-fund/.
Will KCC Waste Action plan for the circular economy include wool? Ireland is currently transitioning towards a Just Transition and away from turf and peat burning and sheep and wool linked social enterprise have a role to play.
Snap shot of Bord na Móna Just Transition situation below ∙ Bord na Móna acknowledges BnM's "jackboot" of a carbon footprint, emphasising BnM's slow carbon plans, with a very big emphasis "just transition" on the future of BnM workers and on biomass as a key driver in reducing the company's footprint. ∙ Their current large horticultural peat business or peat for livestock bedding.] ∙ Current in 2017: 1.25 TWh from 37% peat, 27% biomass, rest is variable renewables o By 2023 aim for 2.32 TWh, 65% from wind, biomass 19% and peat 15% ∙ BnM total 80,000 ha of cutaway bog; still have 15-20 years of peat 'reserves'. Afforestation not very successful on acid cutaway bogland. ∙ "EU say biomass is carbon neutral and we do not write the rules". Have identified a need to research wool and sheep waste as a comingling fuel component of biomass
The Irish language has a massive potential for revival in Kildare as the primary and secondary schools are creating scholarly Irish speakers. The anglicised versions of Kildare places are often “lost in translation” from their original meaning often nature based (Chill Dara church of the oak)
About this website | logainm.ie
KCC identifies creativity and the arts as a vital component of community life; it fails to recognise the central role artists can play supporting a Just Transition. Artistic expression and design is more than window dressing. It is central to the collective imagination we need to understand the complexity of moving towards a carbon neutral society. KCC can become important actors in this process by amplifying the voice of creative sector and connecting this with a multidisciplinary response to the climate and biodiversity emergency.
Proposed amendment or inclusion:
- KCC should adopt a more creative approach to policy making that encourages co-design with local communities, understands the need for experimental thinking and recognises storytelling as a core component of this process.
-
To achieve this, the appropriate supports should be put in place to bring artists and designers into the process of policy making and encourage multidisciplinary networks to emerge across the county. There are a number of examples of this working in practice including:
- UK Policy Lab https://openpolicy.blog.gov.uk/
- Public policy labs in European Union members states https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC102665
Rationale:
The Draft Kildare County Development Plan can do more to encourage multidisciplinary collaboration. This is not an easy process, it requires a shift away from siloed thinking towards open innovation and participatory practices. Artists, designers and other creative practitioners are uniquely positioned to help facilitate this process and it is important that KCC put in place supports for this now.
To briefly highlight this point, the word imagination does not appear once in the entire document. While this is an overly simplistic example it is offered to emphasise a point made in the opening statement of this document. The language we choose to use everyday matters. KCC has an opportunity to craft a distinctive voice for the region and this can only be achieved by encouraging diversity as a core component of the CDP.
Development of Language Plans
Support the development and implementation of language plans in Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas, Gaeltacht Service Towns and Irish Language Networks.
Support the Statutory Development Agencies
it will be a time-critical missed opportunity if specific projects and plans are not identified locally to address climate mitigation measures.
SEC’s Sustainable energy communities are empowered citizens and communities at the centre of our sustainable energy transition and are best placed to drive these measures. We would like to see a specific commitment from KCC to collaborate with the SECs.
While each individual SEC will have their own unique projects, there will be a huge crossover of similar plans and projects which could be addressed as a network.
As part of this Draft County Development Plan we would urge Kildare CoCo to consider signing up to a “Local hinterland Climate Action Charter” with member SEC’s to deliver local adaption strategies and measures. We believe this will produce tangible results for both KCC and member SEC’s
Mitigating climate change can improve the lives and livelihoods of millions as well as support the long-term development of the UN SDGS and the Global wool industry.
It is believed that working with strategic partners is the best way for us to contribute towards a more sustainable future for the Kildare heritage and innovate wool industry and for humanity, and to reverse some of the harmful effects of climate change.
The objective is to establish a Global Wool Trading centre of excellence platform Kildare based, with buyers and seller, an academy of regenerative learning for sales of sheep wool linked innovations.
Worldwide importance of sheep husbandry as sustainable livelihood option for landless, marginal, and small farmers needs to be realized along with its global emergence as the desired food animal in the climate change era. Ireland via Kildare can become leaders in this field. A just transition to lesser fossil fuel intensive industry is underway and sheep and wool play an integral part of this journey.
Wool and agro tourism supports to establish and to create land to label transparency in sheep and wool products based with BlockChain and FinTech tools to increase transparency measures for KCC to champion.
By performing an enabling role in international agro tourism and sheep/wool trade KCC ,will create growth opportunities for nature based solution NBS businesses and rural economies.
Will KCC CDP implement and trace long term effectiveness of NBS proving positive for water based solutions? We all require water
European NBS feed into the following which KCC can champion
Farm to Fork strategy
Ecosystem based approached
Urban Agenda and Green infrastructure
EU Bioeconomy Strategy
Critical importance of engaging business and community in NBS governance and maintenance over Grey solutions systematic review of cost benefits of NBS decision in KCC choices and consider the social and health benefits of NBS
Benefit society and ecosystems work with nature to help people and biodiversity
Mapping Ecobased solutions
Mapping agro tourism agents
RET O10 - Innovation and diversification
As the IPCC states: limiting global warming to 1.5°C will “require rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society” across land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities. In the sectoral reduction ranges published in the 2021 Action Plan, special consideration is given to agriculture and the sector is given a less onerous reduction range that any other sector, with a maximum cut of 30% compared to an average of 57% for the other sectors. Given that special treatment and the reality outlined in point 2 above that only if every sector makes the maximum cut will we meet the 51% target, there simply is no room for further concessions to agriculture
Support all of the statutory development agencies, especially Údarás na Gaeltachta, to achieve sustainable development in the County while protecting and promoting the Irish language as the first community language of the area.
The oak tree is resilient
- As Kildare means Church of the Oak that we host a celebration of the Oak a pioneer species of tree and grant oak trees, in light of the oak coverage of Ireland historically, a protected status and that trees rights be represented and advocated for in county council meetings
- KCC Logo lends itself to honouring the presence of a symbolic seat for an Oak Tree as Japananese municipal meetings invite the presents of a “mountain” and nature at their meetings to reflect the need for natures voices to be considered in council planning
- KCC Logo includes an acorn thus lends itself to honouring the presence of a symbolic seat for an Oak Tree as Japananese municipal meetings invite the presents of a “mountain” and nature at their meetings to reflect the need for natures voices to be considered in council planning will KCC do so ?
That KCC champion oak planting and a ultra long term vision for oak and bog work centric designs and be oak tree protectors. Oak is a pioneer species granting an ecosystem to over 200 species. That KCC plant native oak trees on council owned land as part of that ultra long term plan
That KCC implement the https://theblueshield.org/ principles and steps to protect cultural property from climate damage and worse threats