Peatland Futures

Peatlands play a critical role in meeting (inter)national climate, biodiversity, water and nutrient retention goals. Many are still threatened by drainage and damaging land use – approximately 10% of Europe's former peatland area has been lost, and 46% of the current area is considered degraded. Peatlands remain one of the most important soil carbon stores, while further degradation results in notable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the atmosphere. Supporting peatland restoration is, hence, one of the main goals of the EU's climate and biodiversity policies.

Nevertheless, peatlands are still not a high priority on the political agenda, especially in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). A lack of secure, long-term funding hinders their restoration, especially when it comes to incentivising private landowners to voluntarily dedicate their land. In that line, the Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Regulation is the first EU-wide voluntary framework for certification of carbon removal, farming and storage. It stimulates investment in innovative technologies and sustainable farming solutions, builds trust for buyers, and reduces costs by standardising measurement and reporting for Member States and the EC. It could address unsustainable practices on peat soils — supporting nature-based solutions — and prompt cooperation on peat-related issues among Member States.

Scientific guidance is needed for local adaptation and implementation, especially where data on peatland distribution, properties and status is not available or where paludiculture is not yet practised but could be part of the solution. The project aims to address ambiguity around the certification of carbon removal and peatland GHG emission reductions, engage CEE stakeholders in the mainstream of European carbon policy — its focus being supporting CRCF peatland readiness in CEE Member States — and build on and scale up existing solutions and experiences from Northwestern Europe.

National peatland strategies will facilitate the effective conservation and restoration in the CEE countries, improve constructive dialogue between stakeholders, and support the implementation of the Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) and development and implementation of national restoration plans towards the EU. Strengthened government/stakeholder cooperation will help implement the CRFC Regulation and other peatland policies.

The national peatland strategies — developed with the support of the project — will promote the integration of peatland policy into the mainstream of climate change and nature conservation policy in Central and Eastern European countries that have so far been largely neglected from the international initiative focused on peatland-rich Northwestern European (NWE) countries.

The project outputs should also strengthen the implementation of carbon removal certification in these countries and support carbon farming and other carbon storage activities related to peatlands.

The strengthened and promoted exchange between government representatives and other stakeholders, as well as between CEE and NWE countries, will facilitate the uptake of existing solutions and expertise, and upscaling of the best practices.

• Maps and peatland data for selected CEE countries
• CRFC peatland manual with reference to Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) implementation
• Policy briefs
• Strategic (draft) proposals of national peatland strategies
• Participative workshops
• Multi-stakeholder workshops
• Workshop with European government representatives
• Case studies