Irish Peat Problems

Photo: James Flynn, Irish Times

Almost 13 per cent of Ireland’s land cover is peatlands, some of it protected under the EU directives because of its ecological value.  Bord na Móna manages the harvesting of peat in Ireland but is increasingly involved in rehabilitation of peatland after extraction.  It manages 80,000 hectares of peatlands, of which some 60,000 hectares are of “severely degraded” status due to drainage and peat extraction.


An article in The Irish Times covers the launch of a report commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Ireland, which shows that re-wetting cutaway bogs would provide climate, biodiversity, water and economic benefits.


The final report of the EPA-funded "Carbon Restore" project is available online.