The government has announced more support, including over £7.5 million of new funding, to improve lowland peat soils and reduce carbon emissions.
Environment Minister Trudy Harrison said these new measures “bolster…efforts to protect and improve peat soils – enhancing carbon storage, preserving vital ecosystems, and paving the way for a more sustainable future”.
The new funding will be distributed across two pilots. The Lowland Agricultural Peat Small Infrastructure Pilot (£5.45 million) will support the installation of infrastructure and monitoring technology to enable more control of water levels for the preservation and rewetting of lowland peat.
The Lowland Agricultural Peat Water Discovery Pilot (£2.2 million), to be delivered by the Environment Agency, will allow local and water peatland partnerships to collaborate to develop costed water level management plans for lowland peat areas in England.
The government has also announced that it will take forward action on all 14 recommendations made by Robert Caudwell, independent chair of the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force, whose report is published today (Thursday, June 19).
These recommendations are:
- New investment in water storage, management and control;
- Public money for wetter modes of farming on peat soils;
- Technical advice on keeping peat soils wetter;
- Creating viable opportunities in private finance;
- Raising the profile of lowland agricultural peat soils;
- Adopting the task force’s roadmap to commercially viable paludiculture (farming on rewetted peat).
The Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force, which ran between 2021 and 2022, was tasked with improving the condition of England’s farmed lowland peat.
Alan Lovell, chair of the Environment Agency welcomed the publication of the Caudwell report.
“Drawing on the report’s recommendations, we recognise that the sustainable management of the water environment through raising the water table within peat soils holds a pivotal role in protecting the carbon it stores,” he said.
“The report findings combined with further research and development provide useful support and incentives to farmers looking to transition to more climate-friendly farming of peat soils.”
Robert Caudwell, chair of the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force said: “I thank all the members of the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force for their time and commitment to finding ways of managing lowland agricultural peat that are sustainable and substantially reduce carbon emissions.
“All the evidence demonstrates that reducing carbon emissions from lowland peat is vital as part of the UK government’s plan to tackle climate change.
“The report and the UK government’s response are important first steps in a journey that will require partnership between all stakeholders, and I am confident that the work that is already underway will give farmers opportunities to develop their businesses and contribute to the challenge of net zero.”
The government has also named the 12 projects set to receive support through the £5 million Paludiculture Exploration Fund grant scheme.
These projects aim to help the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to help understand and overcome barriers to developing paludiculture as a commercially viable farming practice on lowland peat soils.
