Thousands of hectares of peatlands from the Great North Bog to the Norfolk Broads are set to be restored with twelve new projects awarded funding 26 August to help tackle climate change and recover biodiversity.
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The Government is investing over £50 million in peat restoration, building on its pledge to restore approximately 35,000 hectares of peatland in England by the end of this Parliament, and leave the environment in a better state for future generations.
Peatlands are an iconic feature of England’s landscape - often referred to as ‘our national rainforest’. They contain over half of the country’s terrestrial carbon stores and provide a haven for wildlife, as well as supporting better water quality and natural flood management.
However, 87% of England’s peatlands, including lowland peatlands are degraded, damaged and dried out, emitting tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
The funding from government will help restore these environments, in turn helping protect wildlife and restore their critical ability to manage water quality and reduce the risk of flooding.
The projects being awarded funding stretch from Somerset to County Durham and will see iconic peatland habitat, such as the Great North Bog, Dorset Heaths and the Lincolnshire Fens restored.
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said: "Our peatlands hold over half of our terrestrial store of carbon, but with just 1% in a near natural state and soils drying out we must take urgent action to prevent further carbon from being emitted into the atmosphere.
"Backed by over £16 million of government funding these new landscape-scale projects will drive collaboration and supercharge peatland restoration across the country to tackle climate change and fight biodiversity loss."
Government has also recently launched the new £2 million Lowland Agricultural Peat Water Discovery Pilot, to be managed by the Environment Agency, which supports government’s Net Zero and sustainable farming ambitions.
Many of our lowland peatlands have historically been drained of water to create drier soils suitable for agricultural use and food production.
The Pilot will fund investigations into more sustainable management of lowland agricultural peat, facilitating local collaboration and enabling the creation of costed water management plans for lowland peat areas in England.
Successful projects will drive advancements in understanding of the lowland peat water challenge to transform the way water is used in England’s lowland regions.
In June, Government announced a package of measures and investment to reduce carbon emissions across lowland peat and a commitment to take forward action on the 14 recommendations for sustainable peatland management as put forward by Robert Caudwell, Chair of the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force.
The measures government is taking will also improve resilience to drought and safeguard productive farming on some of most valuable agricultural land, supporting rural economy and food producers. ■