SCOTLAND should look to restoring its peatlands to help some of the country’s most threatened species and reduce climate emissions, a leading environmental organisation has said.
WWF Scotland say peatlands are unique habitats which provide homes for an amazing range of wildlife, including the merlin, hen harrier, and curlew, as well as newts, frogs, and lizards.
However, campaigners have warned that 80 per cent of peatlands in Scotland are degraded.
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The Scottish Government has recently announced a ban on burning on peatlands from 2021, but WWF Scotland say commercial peat extraction is still allowed across many lowland raised bogs, undermining efforts to restore these important sites and impacting the species that live there.
Dr Sheila George, food and environment policy manager at WWF Scotland, said the importance of “our precious peatlands cannot be overestimated”.
She went on: “When well looked after, they are natural carbon sinks, locking away climate-damaging carbon, and home to a wide range of wildlife, including bog specialist species such as the large heath butterfly, bog sun-jumper spider and sphagnum mosses.
“We’ve seen welcome progress to protect peatlands over the last year, including more funding for restoration and the recently announced ban on burning. But we also need to halt commercial extraction for horticulture – this is not compatible with Scotland’s climate or nature ambitions. And of course, we can all play our part by choosing peat-free compost.”
Commercial extraction for peat-based compost strips away the sensitive bog vegetation and removes the carbon rich soil, leaving bare peat.
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Campaigners say these practices not only put the peat’s ability to store carbon at risk, but cause soil erosion, water quality issues and impact the unique wildlife they support.
Dr Emma Goodyer, programme leader at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) UK Peatland Programme said: “Scotland’s peatlands are hugely significant for biodiversity, fresh water and carbon storage. Yet 80 per cent of peatlands in Scotland are degraded.
“Restoring these mighty bogs would have benefits for people and nature - from the charismatic birds that make peatlands their home to the weird and wonderful insects and carnivorous plants that thrive there too. And with modern alternatives to peat-based compost now available, there really is no reason not to halt extraction and peat compost imports, invest in restoring our extracted lowland peatlands and avoiding the costly consequences of continuing to exploit them.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said their "commitment to tackling the twin-crises of climate change and biodiversity loss is unwavering and is central to our green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic".
They went on: “The natural economy is a vital asset in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, responding to climate change, ending biodiversity loss and creating the new, green employment opportunities of the future. That is why it is central to our current Programme for Government and to our recent Climate Change Plan update – and why we have committed £250 Million to fund peatland restoration over the next ten years.
“We will be considering all options available to reduce the use of horticulture peat in Scotland. However, any levy applied to horticultural peat products would most likely require a UK-wide approach to be effective.
“In our recently published National planning framework 4 position statement, we outlined our intention to update policies on fossil fuel extraction to reflect our climate change objectives and wider energy policy. This also set out our intention not to support applications for planning permission for new commercial peat extraction for horticultural purposes. In additional to this, we will also consider how we can restrict further development on peatland, given its role in carbon sequestration.”
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