The poor performance of the government in meeting its responsibility for protecting our environment has been highlighted in reports from the Northern Ireland Audit Office in 1998 on Water Pollution and in 2003 on Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSIs). Northern Ireland has also demonstrated a poor record of compliance with a long list of European Directives. It seems clear that the current administrative framework is not working as well as it should.

It is in this context that WWF Northern Ireland joined forces with Conservation Volunteers, Friends of the Earth, National Trust (Northern Ireland), Northern Ireland Environment Link, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Ulster Wildlife Trust, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and the Woodland Trust in Spring 2003 to campaign together for the establishment of an independent EPA in Northern Ireland.

This coalition commissioned Richard Macrory, Professor of Environmental Law at University College London to produce an independent report on the options for improving how we manage the environment here in Northern Ireland. Professor Macrory's report "Transparency and Trust" formed the basis of the consultation process launched on 1 April which closes on 30 June.