Bord Na Móna has been appointed to project manage the implementation of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht’s 2020 national protected raised bog restoration programme.
The semi-state body was appointed by Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan last week following a public procurement process.
Bord na Móna’s duty will also include to provide other necessary professional services and to undertake the restoration measures.
The project will also include the installation of an eddy covariance flux tower at a designated raised bog site to monitor the fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4).
The restoration programme could provide for up to 70 jobs in the midlands region across a range of professions including machine operators, engineers, hydrologists, ecologists, environmental scientists, site supervisors, community liaison personnel and in evaluating amenity development potential across the project area.
Minister Madigan commented: “Peatlands are hugely valuable ecosystems, important for preserving biodiversity and help to address climate change. Restoring our protected raised bogs will ensure that the carbon content of the peat within each bog is stored in perpetuity.
The national protected raised bog restoration programme links directly to an action in the Climate Action Plan 2019 for the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to restore/rewet approximately 22,107ha of protected raised bog.
“Functioning peatlands capture carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the form of peat and vegetation.
“When peatlands are drained or damaged, the peat oxidises and the carbon is released back to the atmosphere.
“Peat oxidation can be stopped or reduced through the restoration of sites and hydrological management measures.
“It is essential to keep the carbon stored in the ground and restore/rehabilitate their hydrological balance to return degraded peatlands to sinks or carbon neutral systems,” the minister concluded.