The University of Galway has launched an All-Ireland Peatlands Centre of Excellence (APEX) to lead research and policy development on restoration and conservation of bogland. 

The centre has been established at the university’s Ryan Institute to help address critical challenges linked to peatlands, including decarbonisation, biodiversity loss, the Just Transition, and cultural heritage. 

Along with the centre being a focus for academic research and policy development, it will also serve as a hub for innovation and training on the protection of peatlands on the island of Ireland and overseas.  

The launch of the APEX follows a research collaboration between University of Galway and Trinity College Dublin titled RePEAT, which is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The project identified former peatlands areas suitable for alternative management and informing national bog rewetting projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  

Using Bog Commissioner maps from the 19^th century, which were originally designed to facilitate drainage - RePEAT researchers digitised the maps and turned them against their original purpose to establish the original baseline extent of peatlands. 

The maps recorded the large-scale survey of more than 1 million acres of bogs between 1810-1814.  

Dr Terry Morley, lead of the new APEX and researcher on the RePEAT project, said that the centre will bring together scientists, policymakers, landowners, and communities.  

He said: “We hope that through this new centre of excellence we will be able to strengthen national capacity for sustainable peatland management and ensure long-term environmental and societal benefits from restoration and conservation.   

“University of Galway is uniquely situated to lead this centre, with blanket and raised bogs at our doorstep and broad interdisciplinary peatland research expertise.”  

Dr John Connolly, a researcher on the project from TCD, said that the RePEAT project had identified more than 200,000ha of former peatland that is now in other land uses.

He said: "These areas represent emissions many times higher than their baseline and can be used to identify areas that may be suitable for restoration and rewetting under Ireland’s climate action plan."

A special showcase outlining the findings of the RePEAT research project will be hosted in the Orbsen building on the University of Galway campus from Monday, December 15 to Friday, December 19.

A public lecture will be held on Thursday, December 18 at 5:00pm in the Michael D Higgins auditorium.