Importance of our precious peatlands 

There are around 242,600 hectares of peatland in Northern Ireland covering 18% of the land area – that’s around 21 times the area of Belfast City.  They have a critical role in our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere, are part of our agricultural landscape, and are unique places, rich in nature, hosting many rare and protected species  

Healthy peatlands have formed over thousands of years and are naturally wet places.  For generations they have provided land for livestock farming, feeding us and supporting our economy.  In the uplands, they capture rainfall, controlling its steady flow downhill, averting flooding, and supplying clean water into rivers and into drinking water reservoirs, and can reduce the risk of wildfires during prolonged dry weather. 

Peatland plants, such as sphagnum mosses, draw carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using it for growth, and as the older parts of the plants die back they slowly turn into carbon-rich peat, millimetre by millimetre, locking away the carbon for thousands of years.  It’s a massive amount of carbon – in Northern Ireland there are around 45 years’-worth of our current annual greenhouse gas emissions locked away as peat. 

This critical role as a natural regulator of our climate is under threat as our use of these lands over many generations has altered their ability to keep the carbon stores in the ground, and modern air pollution has upset the balance of plant life and its ability to become peat.  This needs to change.  We have to give peat a chance, for it to help us in return. 

 In Northern Ireland, there are around 45 years’-worth of our current annual greenhouse gas emissions locked away as peat. 

Protecting our peatlands: the time is now   

In 2021 with the critical decision-making CoP26, the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, in Glasgow this November, we need to gear up and transform our efforts to tackle climate change for the long term.  Taking urgent action to protect peatlands is being recognised by governments, landowners, environmentalists and citizens.   

Globally, peatlands cover just 3% of the land area yet they store twice as much carbon as the forests and it’s critical this stays locked away. The challenge is that in Northern Ireland around 80% of our peatlands are leaking greenhouse gases and urgent action is needed to restore them so we can stop this; and it needs to be done on a big scale, done as quickly as possible. 

Experience across the UK has shown that investing in peatland restoration now can return multiple economic and social benefits at a local and national level for many years as we adapt to climate change and work to lessen its effects

A new peatlands map for Northern Ireland 

Ulster Wildlife through its Accelerating Peatland Restoration project is responding to this urgency, working in partnership with the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, DAERA, the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen and AFBI to produce an up-to-date map of Northern Ireland’s peatlands.  Using the latest satellite imaging and other mapping techniques along with extensive soil sampling, experts at the James Hutton Institute will produce peat maps for Northern Ireland that will provide an accurate picture of where our peatlands are, how much peat they contain and the condition they are in. 

The peat maps will be an up-to-date resource that can be used to inform long-term decisions on policy and investment for peatland restoration in Northern Ireland.  Dr Matt Aitkenhead, leading the James Hutton Institute work, said, “Experience across the UK has shown that investing in peatland restoration now can return multiple economic and social benefits at a local and national level for many years as we adapt to climate change and work to lessen its effects.” 

The need to build resilient peatlands 

Many of us regularly see peatlands, perhaps taking them for granted and not realising how much we rely upon them for our way of life.  Now and into the future it will be vital to have effective policies to improve the resilience of peatlands, for climate change mitigation and adaptation. DAERA is producing a Northern Ireland Peatland Strategy and has established a Resilient Peatlands Programme to support the delivery of policy measures and work with partners to invest in restoring and managing peatlands across Northern Ireland into the future. 

Ulster Wildlife is bringing its years of accumulated experience and know-how in peatland management for nature and for restoration.  Through working with its partners, farmers and landowners we will help secure a future for peatlands, which will, in turn, remain true climate heroes for generations to come.