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Ecocide (noun)
The destruction of the natural environment by deliberate or negligent human action.

In this series, entitled Ecocide, Brian Murray, founder of microWild, reflects on how everyday domestic habits, industrial practices and government decisions combine to devastate the environment and its wildlife inhabitants.

IN 2023, IRELAND’S ongoing struggle with biodiversity loss took centre stage when satellite imagery captured a disturbing phenomenon. Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater lake on the island of Ireland, was blanketed by an algal bloom so severe it was visible from space. This event was a stark visual representation of the nationwide environmental crisis affecting Irish waters. 

The Lough Neagh outbreak was found to be the dangerous result of bacteria from livestock waste and human effluent, and caused major public health concerns at a site that provides more than 40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water. A study of the area found that the presence of the algae toxins may have also contributed to the death of animals such as dogs that entered the water at the time. 

Algal blooms, the rapid proliferation of algae populations in freshwater and marine environments, are primarily driven by excess nutrients, specifically nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), entering these delicate ecosystems.

Water pollution by blooming blue-green algae. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

This process, known as eutrophication, creates an environment ripe for explosive algae growth when combined with other favourable environmental conditions such as warmth, still water and sunlight.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), agricultural practices are by far the most significant contributors to nutrient pollution in rural waters in Ireland.

Intensive farming, including slurry spreading and the widespread application of chemical fertilisers rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, introduces excessive nutrients into waterways. Rainfall washes these nutrients from fields into rivers and lakes, setting the stage for algal blooms.

The same EPA report notes that urban wastewater treatment also plays a critical role in polluting Ireland’s water. Ireland’s ageing infrastructure struggles to adequately treat sewage before discharging it into rivers and coastal waters, allowing nutrient-rich wastewater to enter sensitive aquatic ecosystems regularly.

Despite numerous reports highlighting the issue, substantial investment and improvements in wastewater treatment infrastructure remain slow. I recently discovered an algal bloom (pictured) in the pond I manage as part of the microWild biodiversity project in........

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