The equivalent of more than 33,000 cars’ worth of carbon emissions is being removed from the atmosphere each year due to the pioneering environmental work of grouse moor estates in the north of England, a new survey has revealed.
A survey of Moorland Association members has revealed the extent of conservation work undertaken in the last ten years and the contribution to carbon capture:
Peatland restoration and tree planting are key parts of the government’s commitment to tackling climate change, with ambitious England-wide targets of 35,000 hectares of peatland to be restored and about 10,000 hectares of trees per year planted by 2025.
Moorland Association members report they have already achieved 60 per cent of the peatland restoration work required on their land, with this latest work making a valuable (26%) contribution towards the UK government’s target for 2025.
Previous decades of work undertaken on Moorland Association members’ land restored at least 24,000 hectares of peatland and saw 4,000 km (2,485 miles) of drains blocked, all making a significant contribution to the reduction of carbon emissions to date.
The Moorland Association works closely with the North Pennines AONB Partnership, Yorkshire Peat Partnership, Forest of Bowland AONB and the Moors for the Future Partnership, working together to contribute to the UK’s carbon sequestration targets as part of the Great North Bog initiative.
Dr Tim Thom, Peatland Programme Manager at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust said “It’s great to see moor owners rising to the challenge of climate change. Since 2009, we’ve worked with Moorland Association members and other landowners to bring over 31,000 hectares of Yorkshire’s peatlands into restoration management. We looking forward to getting to work with them on the remaining moors in the years to come.”
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Posted On: 15/03/2021