Government peat announcement welcomed by The Wildlife Trusts
Monday 8th March 2010
But more ambitious targets needed, the conservation organisation urges
The Wildlife Trusts have welcomed the announcement from Rt Hon Hilary Benn today that the Government is calling for a phase-out of peat in compost material by 2020, but have warned that even greater urgency is needed if we are to restore and manage our peatlands effectively.
The leading conservation organisation has long campaigned against peat extraction, which can devastate habitat for many rare and specialised species, and which releases massive amounts of harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Paul Wilkinson, head of A Living Landscape for The Wildlife Trusts, said: “The Wildlife Trusts believe that extracting peat is an unsustainable practice, both because of its effects on wildlife and in terms of climate change. We are working hard to protect the UK’s peatlands – only last month Yorkshire Wildlife Trust announced its part in the Yorkshire Peat Partnership*, which aims to substantially increase the amount of peatlands restoration activity in the Yorkshire uplands.
“Peat bogs provide a habitat for many species, such as the peatland specialist, sundew, and peat soils store a huge amount of carbon. They are one of our best assets in fighting climate change. On the flip side, drained and over-exploited peat soils give off huge amounts of carbon. In addition to their role in climate change, peatlands provide other benefits such as grazing land, grouse moors and clean water. Restoration may even protect property from flooding by storing more water on the hills during storms.
“The phasing out of peat in compost has begun and now needs to be accelerated on a much more ambitious timescale. Otherwise, in the next 10 years, our peatlands will continue to experience unsustainable extraction and we will also be missing opportunities to manage and restore peatlands, with all of the subsequent benefits this can bring.”
* Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is working with Natural England, the Environment Agency and the National Parks Committee to spend £2.1million of agri-environment funds on peatland restoration this year alone through the Yorkshire Peat Partnership. The Wildlife Trusts are also working with others through the International Union for Conservation of Nature UK programme advocating for the restoration of all of Britain’s battered bogs.
Further information:
• Tanya Perdikou, media & campaigns officer, 01636 670057, tperdikou@wildlifetrusts.org
Story by RSWT