Peatland Rewilding and Wildlife Recovery

Peatlands store more carbon than all other terrestrial vegetation combined and provide unique habitat for specialist wildlife, but drainage for agriculture has degraded millions of hectares with severe welfare consequences.

Key Facts

Peatlands cover just 3% of land but store approximately 30% of all soil carbon globally
Drained peatlands in the UK emit more carbon annually than all aviation from UK airports
Sphagnum moss restoration is the foundation of peatland rewilding as it creates the waterlogged conditions other species need
Breeding waders including curlew, golden plover, and dunlin have declined severely due to peatland drainage
The Great Fen project in Cambridgeshire is restoring 3,700 hectares of fenland for wildlife
Peatland restoration can reduce flash flooding and improve downstream water quality alongside wildlife benefits

Welfare Considerations

Peatland rewilding addresses welfare harms caused by habitat degradation. Curlew populations that have declined by 48% since 1994 in the UK face food scarcity and nesting failure on drained peatland that can no longer support the invertebrate communities they need. Restoring water levels by blocking drainage channels rapidly improves invertebrate abundance, benefiting the food web above. Adders, which have lost much lowland heath and peat habitat, benefit from the structural complexity of restored peatland. Peatland rewilding combines animal welfare, carbon sequestration, and flood mitigation in one of the highest-value landscape interventions available in temperate regions.

What You Can Do

Donate to Flow Country and Scottish peatland restoration programmes
Support agricultural subsidies that reward peatland rewetting on former farmland
Advocate for planning policies that prevent new peatland drainage for development
Use peat-free compost in gardening to reduce demand for peat extraction
Raise awareness about peatland carbon storage and wildlife welfare importance