Residents of Northern Ireland have been urged to make their voice heard regarding the new Environment Strategy for the region.

Consultation has been launched on the newly-shaped strategy, allowing locals to express views on what the environment should look like in the future, what the nation's environmental priorities and objectives should be, and how they should achieve these.

SDLP representative John Dallat MLA has called on individuals to partake in the online survey.

"We are facing a global climate catastrophe," he said. "We must take action to address the impact of rising temperatures caused by human generated emissions within the next 11 years. This is no niche political hobby horse – it's an emergency and it demands immediate action at a local, national and international level.

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"Any new Environment Strategy must be highly ambitious for our living landscape. We need robust decarbonisation targets, a new plan for land maintenance and habitat preservation, and a new approach to enforcement.

"The DEFRA 25 year plan and work undertaken by the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales gives a good watermark for the standard we should be aiming for. I look forward to engaging with the public and stakeholders as we seek to protect our environment together."

The online survey on the Environment Strategy for Northern Ireland is available here.

(CM/JG)