Using research to support multi-million pound investment in peatland restoration
This project helps to maximise pay-back from restoring Yorkshire’s vast peat bogs and makes it easier for practitioners to use modelling tools and economic valuation methods.
The Yorkshire Peat Partnership and Moors for the Future Partnership have been collaborating with the Universities of Leeds, Manchester and Durham to develop tools that people can use when they consider how to get the most value from restoring peatland even as the climate changes.
The project team has produced a user-friendly interface for a digital modelling tool called DigiBog_Hydro which informs what peatland restoration activities can do to optimise ecosystem service delivery. They have also developed a guide to help practitioners decide on the type of method that could be used to value the benefits of peatland restoration. This is illustrated with helpful case studies to show how different valuation methods can be used for different purposes.
These tools can be used to support multi-million pound investments in peatland restoration and to strengthen the business case for more investment in such schemes.
Partners
Durham University
Moors for the Future Partnership
University of Leeds
University of Manchester
Yorkshire Peat Partnership
Project Team
Prof. Andy Baird, Dr. Julia Martin-Ortega & Dr. Martin Dallimer – University of Leeds
Dr Marie Ferré – iCASP Impact Translation Fellow
Prof. Martin Evans & Prof. Tim Allott – Durham University
Tim Thom – Yorkshire Peat Partnership
Jonathan Walker – Moors for the Future Partnership
Duration
March 2018 – February 2019
Outputs
Our ‘User Guide for Valuing the Benefits of Peatland Restoration’ provides:
- Simple description of methods for valuing the benefits provided by peatlands, and how to apply them in practice.
- UK case-study applications.
- Existing evidence on the benefits of peatlands.
- Examples of how to use estimated values of the benefits.
You can download guide for free below. Please read our user guide flyer for a full description of key features.
User Guide for Valuing the Benefits of Peatland Restoration
User Guide flyer
Webinar: Valuing the benefits of peatland restoration – a User Guide
A free webinar is available that introduces the iCASP programme and the tools developed through the Optimal Peatland Restoration project. The webinar was delivered as part of the Pennine Peatlife programme and given by iCASP’s Marie Ferre and Julia Martin-Ortega in February 2019. View the Valuing the benefits of peatland restoration webinar here.
Other webinars in the series can also be viewed here
DigiBog_Hydro
Information about DigiBog_Hydro can be see on the Water@Leeds website
Deliberative Monetary Valuation protocol
The Deliberative Monetary Valuation method (DMV) is one type of environmental valuation technique that allows valuation of the benefits that ecosystems provide to humans. This protocol sets out key steps for conducting the DMV method as well as important considerations for its application. It is particularly aimed at non-academics – environmental practitioners especially – interested in independently valuing and/or discussing values of ecosystem services.The protocol uses peatland restoration as an example, but it is applicable to any kind of ecosystem. Download the DMV protocol, a training video and all the associated resources to allow you to carry out your own DMV process in your own project.