Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to restore upland peat sites.

Dan Rogerson

Defra has a range of measures in place to support the restoration of upland peat sites. These include protection through statutory area designations such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). In addition there are specific incentives for peatland restoration in agri-environment schemes. In 2013 we committed £31.2 million through Environmental Stewardship (covering around 98,000ha) to management options for the maintenance and restoration of moorland habitats. A further £4.1million was committed in capital grants for grip blocking. These are the key options in Environmental Stewardship that contribute to the management of upland peat. This support will continue to be provided under the new environmental land management scheme.

The Dark Peak Nature Improvement Area (NIA) in the Peak District, one of the twelve NIAs announced in 2012, is focused on improving upland peatland habitats across an area of 25,000ha.

In September 2013 we launched the pilot UK Peatland Code which provides a basis for business sponsorship of peatland restoration. An initial suite of restoration projects from across the UK have been identified covering over 25,000 ha of mainly blanket bog.

Upland peat restoration is also being addressed through Defra’s Research and Development Programme, with over £1 million committed between 2010 and 2015 to identify restoration techniques with the best environmental outcomes.