The Million Hectare Challenge was announced in September by the IUCN UK Peatland Programme and its aims are to restore over one third of the peatland areas in the UK.
Private investment is being sought from businesses to help restore damaged peat bogs.
Peat bogs are thought store more than 3 billion tonnes of carbon, some of which is released as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when the natural peat bog habitat is degraded.
It is thought that if repaired, the peatland areas could remove around 3 million tonnes of climate changing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year.
The IUCN UK Peatland Programme exists to promote peatland restoration in the UK and advocates the multiple benefits of peatlands through partnerships, strong science, sound policy and effective practice.
The work of the Peatland Programme is overseen by a coalition of environmental bodies including the John Muir Trust, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, RSPB, North Pennines AONB Partnership, Moors for the Future and the University of East London.
In addition to this announcement, The Voluntary UK Peatland Code was launched as a guide to restoration and management.
To find out more, visit the UK Peatland Programme Website.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.