22 May, 2026
NatureScot launches consultation for Scotland’s peatlands
Peatland ACTION is calling on everyone with a passion for one of the country’s most iconic and vital landscapes to get involved in shaping its first ever industry standard.
Scotland has around two million hectares of peatlands, representing almost a quarter of our land surface. When they are in good condition, peatlands are carbon sinks, estimated to hold the equivalent of 140 years’ worth of the country's total annual greenhouse gas emissions, providing clean drinking water and flood regulation in our everyday lives. They offer a special and unique home for wildlife, and they are vital to farming, sporting, tourism and crofting economies. They are also, however, currently one of our largest degraded ecosystems, making them sources of carbon contributing to climate change.
Scotland’s Peatland Standard will provide shared technical guidance for everyone involved in protecting, restoring and managing peatland. It will introduce collective principles and clarity on legal and good practice requirements, improving the sector through quality and consistency.
So far, Peatland ACTION (the national partnership programme led by Scottish Government and delivered by NatureScot, Cairngorms National Park Authority, Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park Authority, Scottish Water, and Forestry and Land Scotland) has worked with key voices in the sector to create a draft version of Scotland’s Peatland Standard that will help put Scottish Government policies and strategies into action.
The consultation on the draft of Scotland’s Peatland Standard is now open to peatland practitioners, land managers, regulators, funders, researchers, and members of the public to have their say.
NatureScot Chief Executive, Nick Halfhide said: “Restoring Scotland’s peatlands is everybody’s business, because we all benefit from them when they’re healthy. Although 90k hectares of degraded peatland have been put on the road to recovery, we still have a long way to go. That’s why NatureScot is urging landowners and managers to play their part in creating Scotland’s Peatland Standard that we can all be proud of that will ensure better water quality, livestock welfare, sporting management, wildfire mitigation and jobs across the country.”
Ends.
Contact information
- Name
- NatureScot Media
- Telephone
- 0131 316 2655
- media@nature.scot
Notes to editors
- The consultation on the draft Scotland’s Peatland Standard can be viewed and responded to here.
- The consultation runs until 28 August 2026.
- A summary of the findings will be published after August, and Scotland’s Peatland Standard will be published in December 2026.
- Peatland ACTION is a Scottish Government funded programme focused on the restoration of damaged peatlands in Scotland for the many benefits to people, nature and the economy. Funding comes through the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plan 2026-2040 to restore more than 400,000 hectares by 2040. The Peatland ACTION programme is delivered in a partnership led by NatureScot, with Cairngorms National Park Authority, Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park Authority, Scottish Water, and Forestry and Land Scotland, working together with key stakeholders that have an interest in peatlands.
NatureScot is Scotland's nature agency. We work to enhance our natural environment in Scotland and inspire everyone to care more about it. Our priority is a nature-rich future for Scotland and an effective response to the climate emergency. For more information, visit our website at www.nature.scot or follow us on X at https://x.com/NatureScot
’S e NatureScot buidheann nàdair na h-Alba. Bidh sinn a’ neartachadh àrainneachd na h-Alba agus a’ brosnachadh dhaoine gu barrachd suim a chur ann an nàdar. Tha e mar phrìomhachas againn gum bi nàdar na h-Alba beairteach agus gun dèilig sinn gu h-èifeachdach le èiginn na gnàth-shìde. Tha an tuilleadh fiosrachaidh aig www.nature.scot no air X aig https://x.com/NatureScot
