THE Scottish Government body that manages Scotland's forests has set 10,000 hectares of peatland on the road to recovery through "re-wetting" sites.
The milestone has been reached by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) staff and contractors working on sites across Scotland – including at Kintyre and Lochaber in the west, Carnwath and Flanders Moss in central Scotland and Skye and Flow Country in Caithness and Sutherland in the north.
It is estimated when fully recovered the 10,000 hectares will permanently bring about emissions savings of 87,800 tonnes of CO2 per year – the equivalent of taking about 63,000 new petrol cars in the UK off the road for a year.
It comes after several FLS forest to bog peatland projects featured in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) recent paper as an examples of successful restoration.
The Scottish Government currently has a target of restoring 250,000 hectares of degraded peatland by 2030.
Peatlands cover around two million hectares or a quarter of Scotland, and when healthy can help secure carbon stores, by changing them from sources of carbon to carbon sinks while also supporting nature, and reducing flood and fire risk.
Rural Affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon said: “Peatlands are an integral part of Scotland’s cultural and natural heritage, and cover more than 20% of our country. When in good condition, they can help us fight climate change, support biodiversity, improve water quality and reduce the severity of flooding and fires.
“I am proud to mark FLS hitting 10,000 hectares of peatland restoration. Every site we restore adds to the scale of the contribution we make to our environment, to biodiversity, water quality, to our future, and to the people of Scotland.
“Work is continuing to restore and protect the next 10,000 hectares of this precious natural resource and this will play a key part of Scotland’s response to the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.”
FLS chief executive Simon Hodgson said: “Reaching this milestone is a testament to the dedication of FLS teams and our partners in efforts to transform and restore one of Scotland’s largest degraded ecosystems to create a far healthier landscape. One that not only benefits the wider environment, but also the health and wellbeing of people and nature.”
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