New European Green Deal project launched to lead large-scale restoration of European wetlands
WaterLANDS (Water-based solutions for carbon storage, people and wilderness) is an ambitious, large-scale project to restore wetland sites across Europe which have been decimated by human activity and lay the foundations for scalable protection across much wider areas. It has received €23 million of funding from the EU Horizon 2020 Programme Green Deal and includes the development of 15 Knowledge Sites and six Action Sites.
iCASP is a key research partner in the project, which will build on our collaborative approach with a wide range of communities and organisations involved in the restoration of peatlands across the region and support them to deliver major advances in wetland restoration.
Previous attempts at wetland restoration have often been too localised or too fragmented to make a significant difference to the re-establishment of wetland ecosystems and species.
WaterLANDS will undertake hands-on restoration of specific wetland sites, covering an initial 10,500 ha, and create best practice models that can be applied to other sites. By engaging with local communities and stakeholders, the project will ensure that wetland restoration results not only in environmental gains but also in social and economic benefits for the communities involved.
News, updates and blogs
Meet Kathryn Moyes – helping to use green finance to restore the Great North Bog
I am the Graduate Trainee in Green Finance and Peatland Restoration within WaterLANDS UK. My role is to help build capacity and mobilise the use of green finance to support and deliver peatland restoration across the Great North Bog. This involves sourcing and engaging private sector finance, raising the profile of the Great North Bog’s…
What have our WaterLANDSUK artists been up to?
Artists at Fleet Moss WaterLANDS UK artists in residence Laura Harrington and Feral Practice (Fiona MacDonald) gave a presentation at a two day conference hosted in the New Forest’s tree house venue. The Conference, held in September 24, was called ‘The Long View: Art, a sense of place, belonging and reciprocity in relation to landscape’ and focused…
WaterLANDS Newsletters
News from WaterLANDS UK Water-based solutions for carbon storage, people and wilderness In the UK, the WaterLANDS team has been working with the Great North Bog – a coalition of six delivery partnerships – to support blanket bog restoration at scale across the whole of the north of England. This includes support around monitoring, planning, finance, citizen science, community…
Risks of nature commodification in the UK’s Green Finance Strategy: a document analysis
Ruth Bookbinder, Julia Martin-Ortega, Joshua Cohen – University of Leeds Aims and approach This report marks an initial step in our efforts to understand how risks in nature commodification are captured in green finance policy in the UK. It presents an analysis based on 19 policy and advisory documents identified from a public presentation of…
West Yorkshire Flood Innovation Programme autumn 2024 Newsletter
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West Yorkshire Flood Innovation Programme spring 2024 Newsletter
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The 5-year project is led by Dr Craig Bullock, WaterLANDS project coordinator and Research Fellow in Planning and Environmental Policy at University College Dublin. It brings together 31 other organisations from research, industry, government and non-profit sectors in 14 European countries.
Professor Joseph Holden, director of iCASP and water@leeds,
Professor Julia Martin-Ortega, social sciences project lead for Water@Leeds, at University of Leeds,
Professor Andy Baird, Professor Lee Brown, Professor Pippa Chapman, Dr Paul Morris, at University of Leeds
Dr Richard Grayson, iCASP Impact Translation Fellow , Catherine Seal, iCASP communications officer, Melanie Stonard, iCASP programme administrator
White Paper on the requirements for upscaled peatland restoration in upland England
Richard Grayson, Joseph Holden, Julia Martin-Ortega, Rachael Bice, Paul Leadbitter, Klaus Glenk, Joshua Cohen, Antony Blundell, Lee Brown, Paul Morris, Catherine Moody
Around 80 percent of all UK peatlands have been modified, resulting in significant degradation.
Based on evidence, this White Paper provides recommendations to overcome barriers to successful, fully upscaled restoration of vital peatland carbon stores and ecosystems found in the English uplands.
The England Peat Action Plan recognises that re-wetting peatland areas and returning them to their natural state could significantly contribute to achieving the UK’s target to meet net zero emissions by 2050 while also having other benefits for water quality, nature and flood mitigation. It includes an initial commitment to restore over 35000 ha of the country’s peatland by March 2025.
The Environment Improvement Plan aimed to restore around 280,000 hectares of peatland in England by 2050.
Peatland restoration can be both part of the solution to climate change and part of the problem.
Key recommendations needed to deliver fully upscaled peatland restoration set out in this paper include:
You can read the full report HERE.
Have your say on topics covered in the White Paper
We would value your feedback on the topic areas covered in the White Paper and any comments about what you or your organisation consider key to managing, conserving and restoring our upland peatlands sustainably now and in the future.
Dr Joshua Cohen
Engagement Lead
Dr Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez
PeatDataHub Coordinator
Catherine Seal
Communications Officer
Dr Andy Brown
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