The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has placed a ban on burning heather and grass on deep peat to improve air quality for local communities, reduce flood risk, and protect wildlife.
DEFRA believes that the ban will protect the UK’s “globally unique network of peatlands”.
Environment minister, Mary Creagh said: “Our peatlands are England’s Amazon Rainforest – home to our most precious wildlife, storing carbon and reducing flooding downstream.
“Burning on peatland releases harmful smoke ruining local air quality and damaging the precious ecosystems found in these iconic landscapes.”
“Restricting burning will help us restore and rewet peatlands. These new measures will create resilient peatlands that are naturally protected from wildfires,” she added.
The extension comes following a consultation on measures announced earlier this year, and expands protections to all deep peat in the uplands, and redefines deep peat from the current 40cm to 30cm depth.
A refined licencing system which allows prescribed burning in exceptional circumstances will also be introduced.
Any licences for prescribed burning will only be issued where there is a clear need, for example, to reduce wildfire risk. This will help balance environmental protection with practical land management, according to DEFRA
CLA
The vice president of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), Joe Evans said that the CLA is “extremely disappointed” with the decision.
He said: “The CLA is extremely disappointed that Defra has not heeded land managers’ grave concerns about wildfire risk, and has pressed ahead with a misguided decision to restrict controlled burning on a threefold larger area of England’s upland peat soils.
“Defra continues to view controlled burning as a ‘last resort’ option. We strongly dispute the scientific basis for this.
“Controlled burning is the only reliable, proven method other than grazing that moorland managers have available to control moorland vegetation fuel loads. Land managers should remain able to choose when they use it,” Evans added.
The CLA believes that DEFRA’s policy will impair its capacity to fight wildfires in the uplands, at a time of worsening risk.
