From Evidence to Opportunity” is Northern Ireland’s second State of the Environment report. The first report “Our environment, our heritage, our future” was published in 2008 and presented baseline indicators across six themes to provide an evidence-based assessment of the state of the environment. This second assessment provides a five year update and commentary on forty four indicators across eight themes. These indicators are drawn from the annual Northern Ireland Environmental Statistics Reports from 2009 on and information from a range of sources including the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and other public bodies. This report draws together in one place an overall picture of our environment, identifies cross-cutting issues and provides a commentary on key challenges and emerging trends. As a result we are now better able to assess the effectiveness of our environmental policies over the longer term and to base decisions on how we manage and protect our environment on appropriate evidence.