REthinking sustainable land use of PEATland
Informations
- Funding country
Norway- Acronym
- REPEAT
- URL
- -
- Start date
- 1/1/2021
- End date
- 12/31/2026
- Budget
- 2,057,618 EUR
Fundings
| Name | Role | Start | End | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MILJØFORSK - Environmental Research for a Green Transition | Grant | - | - | 2,057,616 EUR |
Abstract
The climate and biodiversity crises show that we need a national, knowledge-based management of peatlands. REPEAT – REthinking sustainable land use of PEATlands will combine hard data on peatland carbon stocks and restoration to develop new knowledge about sustainable planning and management, for dissemination among public authorities, experts, and the general public. Unsustainable land use, climate change and biodiversity loss are three interlinked issues threatening all life on Earth. Knowledge-based peatland management can play an important role here, since intact peatlands represent huge carbon stocks and important biodiversity reservoirs. Despite years of peatland research in Norway, we still lack fundamental methods. We need effective monitoring methods to determine peatland extent and depth. Furthermore, we restore previously degraded peatlands without knowing how effective our restoration measures really are. The peatland management itself include substantial incongruities: peatland degradation is forbidden for agricultural purposes, but allowed for development of roads, renewable energy and cabins. For wind power development, the existing obligations to restore peatlands after concession period appears unclear. In REPEAT, experts, public authorities, and stakeholders will develop new knowledge for sustainable planning and management of peatlands. Using three projects as examples, we explore how to balance development of roads, renewable energy and cabins against carbon stock and biodiversity considerations. Development of novel methods for peatland mapping, carbon stock estimation, and restoration will be based on existing and new data from four other sites. Insights from the project will be made available for management, research, and the general public, through learning materials. REPEAT aims to develop tools for sustainable planning and management of peatlands that consider human needs without compromising environmental limits, now and in the future.