Media contributions
1Media contributions
Title What is ‘good’ peatland regeneration? Degree of recognition Local Media name/outlet Farm Week Media type Print Duration/Length/Size 800 words Country/Territory United Kingdom Date 2/01/25 Description UPLAND peatlands, often
referred to as ‘blanket
bogs’, play a vital role providing grazing for livestock. However, the importance of
this landscape does not end there.
Peatlands make up approximately 25 per cent of the land area
of Northern Ireland. They support biodiversity, regulate water
flow and are popular with walkers.
They can also play a crucial role in
mitigating climate change – but
only if conditions are right.
According to a DAERA report,
“conservation is dependent on the
adoption of good management
practices by … owners”. Therefore,
it is crucial for farmers to engage in
sustainable practices to enhance
environmental, as well as farming,
outcomes.
At Ulster University Business
School, we are part of a project
led by Agri-Food & Biosciences
Institute (AFBI) investigating hills
and upland farmer perceptions of
agri-environmental schemes. As
part of this project, AFBI hosted a
multi-stakeholder event to discuss
how to achieve a healthy peatland
environment.
Dr Paul Caskie, Head of Economics Research (AFBI), highlighted: “The symposium aimed to
share knowledge and encourage
discussion on what good peatland
management means to stakeholders and how it can be delivered in
the uplands on Northern Ireland.”
The symposium brought together approximately 60 participants representing a variety of
perspectives to consider policy,
ecology, practice, barriers, and
solutions aimed at achieving peatland regeneration.
DAERA Deputy Director in
Natural Environment Policy Division, Fiona Dickson, discussed the
NI Peatland Strategy for Northern
Ireland, which provides the policy
framework for managing and conserving our peatlands.
The NIEA Natural Environment
Division provided an overview of
the status of peatlands in Northern
Ireland together with an update of
the GHG emission inventory of the
region.
Ulster Wildlife Trust shared
a case study from a Special Area
of Conservation, Cranny Bogs in
County Tyrone, where the combination of external funding and
farmers’ own contribution provided an example of best practice to
restore peatbogs. Research undertaken by the Ulster Farmers’ Union
indicated that common challenges
included the fear of penalties, the
slow speed of verification, payment rates, general flexibility, and
short application timeframes.
In this context, Results-Based
Payment Schemes (RBPS) offer
the opportunity for large scale
restoration. With RBPS, farmers
are paid to produce environmental
benefits, with monitoring activity
to assess progress and thus decide
farmer payment. They represent a
more efficient way to allocate public funding as money goes where
the environmental benefit is generated.
Dr Simone Angioloni, Head of
Behavioural Studies Research in
Economics Research, AFBI, presented the results from an experiment with 309 SDA beef and sheep
farmers designed to elicit their
preferences towards different
characteristics of a RBPS to support peatland regeneration: “The
results revealed the importance
of scheme design and financial incentives to promote participation.
Farmers were favourably disposed
to RBPS, as well as to the presence
of an external expert to monitor
and report the outcome that determined payment.
“Farmers also indicated a preference for an external contractor
to deliver the initial capital works
to improve water retention rather
than having responsibility for
these actions. Setting high environmental goals for payment, such as achieving 30 per cent sphagnum
moss coverage, does not reduce
participation in the AES as much
as increasing the contract duration
above 10 years.”
The event indicated the importance of cooperation between policymakers, environmental NGOs,
research, and farmers to achieve a
more sustainable land-use.Producer/Author Dr L Hollywood URL file:///C:/Users/e10415544/Downloads/2025-01-02-Farm_Week-INFW-INFW-35.pdf Persons Lynsey Elizabeth Hollywood