Several European countries attended an event hosted by the government in Dublin today (Monday, May 8), to discuss the development of a European Peatlands Initiative (EPI), the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has said.
The aim of the development meeting was to strengthen existing ties between countries whose joint aims are to create momentum for peatlands restoration, conservation, and sustainable management.
By assisting countries in working collaboratively, the EPI seeks to achieve the common goal of “preserving valuable peatlands across Europe, and playing a substantial role in global endeavors to drive action for nature, climate, and people”.
Addressing the participants, Minister of State at the DAFM, Pippa Hackett said: “It’s important for us to drive peatland conservation and preservation as a shared effort with governments across Europe.
“The meeting in Dublin will serve as an important turning point for the EPI as we move into the next phase of its creation.”
With a hope to launch the initiative in 2024, the next steps for the EPI, which will grow and change over time according to the needs and challenges for Europe’s peatlands, were discussed at the event.
Peatland project
Minister Hackett said the discussions around peat soils were particularly relevant in Ireland and specifically her own area, the midlands.
“Peat soils under agricultural management represent around 7% of our total agricultural area, a significant proportion of which are in the midlands.
“Yet there are still significant gaps in our knowledge of the location, management and emissions from drained organic soils under agricultural management. Further research will be vitally important in improving our understanding of peat soils,” she said.
The DAFM is committed to, she said, as part of the EU Just Transition Fund, establishing a €15 million Midlands Carbon Catchment Study to pioneer research in reducing emissions from organic soils.
“We need to work with farmers at a catchment level to test new and novel ways of alternative and sustainable land management.
“This is another important step in developing pathways to emission reductions from farmed peat soils, and to research ways of engaging and fully rewarding farmers for their efforts, so that social and economic benefits are strengthened in tandem with environmental benefits.
“That is what Just Transition means,” Minister Hackett said.
European Peatlands Initiative
The EPI now transitions from the exploratory phase, conducted by Bax and Company on behalf of the Irish government over the past year which engaged over 150 participants across 15 countries, to the preparatory phase, the DAFM said.
Today’s meeting brought together policymakers, experts and high-profile speakers to discuss the “tremendous efforts” being carried out for peatlands across European countries, the DAFM said.
Participants at the event included the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection; the Netherland’s Ministry of Agriculture, the Nature and Food Quality; and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Global Peatlands Initiative.
The event included a visit to a blanket bog restoration project in the Wicklow Mountains National Park, which is a collaboration between Ireland’s National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Intel Corporation.
The project saw the rewetting of 60ha of drained bog to increase water storage levels by 50-90L. The public-private project collaboration is one of the first of its kind in Ireland for water restoration and the protection of biodiversity, the DAFM said.
Collaboration and dedication are key to advancing peatland conservation and restoration, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Malcolm Noonan said.
“The Dublin meeting is poised to become a pivotal milestone for the European Peatlands Initiative, marking the beginning of a transformative and inspiring new chapter in our shared commitment to a sustainable future,” he said.
Under Ireland’s Climate Action Plan 2023 the protection, conservation, restoration and rehabilitation of peatlands is a key commitment.