A NI peatland strategy, approved by the Stormont Executive and launched by DAERA Minister Andrew Muir last Thursday, includes a vision that peatland habitats in NI will be “protected, restored and managed sustainably” by 2040.

It is an ambitious target, especially if our peatland is in as bad a state as suggested in the document. In it the department argues that “many of our peatlands are in poor condition” due to turf cutting, drainage, grazing, burning and air (ammonia) pollution. “Instead of acting as rich habitats and carbon sinks, damaged peatlands release carbon to the atmosphere and contribute to climate change,” states the document.

In total, around 12% of land in NI is peatland habitat (raised bog, blanket bog and fens) while another 6% of land is peat soil. Together, that accounts for over 240,000ha of land.

According to estimates from DAERA (based on a relatively small area of peatland in designated sites), only 23% of peatland habitat is currently in “a favourable state”.

As well as the potential scale of the issue, there are other complexities, including for DAERA. One of the issues covered in a public consultation in 2021 was that 44% of the state forest (of around 75,000ha) is actually on peat soils. Work at the CAFRE hill farm at Glenwherry has highlighted the significant environmental benefits of clearing trees and filling in drains, thereby restoring blanket bog.

Actions

The new peatland strategy comes with 26 different actions. Those include compiling a NI peatland register which will quantify where peatland is located, its condition, current management practices and its restoration potential. Linked to that is development of a framework, allowing DAERA to prioritise sites for restoration that will deliver “maximum carbon and biodiversity benefits”.

Conserve

To help conserve peat soils, the department is also to undertake a public consultation on restricting retail sales of peat and peat products, while working with the horticulture sector to phase out the use of peat by 2030.

There is little mention in the document around financial incentives for farmers, although there is the potential within the new Farming with Nature scheme “to support landowners to appropriately manage peatlands in the long-term.” There will also be demonstration sites on public land (such as Glenwherry) to showcase best practice in peatland restoration and management.

Groups

To help ensure delivery of the strategy, a number of different groups will be formed by DAERA. They include a Steering Group and a Project Management Board within DAERA and a stakeholder forum with representatives from industry.

Funding

One of the final actions within the new strategy is to “secure funding to implement all peatland conservation, restoration and management activities.”

While no figure is mentioned, restoring degraded bogs can cost a lot of money. To date, DAERA has secured funding of £7.8m which is earmarked towards restoring around 1,000ha of bog and developing plans to restore a further 5,000 to 6,000ha.

There is also PEACEPLUS funding of approximately €40m for nature projects in NI to 2028, which includes plans to restore around 12,500ha of peatland.