13 November, 2023
Peatland ACTION wins prestigious climate award
A Scottish Government-funded programme that offers landowners, farmers and crofters 100% funding and support to restore their damaged peatlands has won the Holyrood Climate Action Award for Nature and the Environment.
The award, presented at an awards ceremony in Edinburgh on 8 November, recognises key players across seven categories including technology, nature, community, and the circular economy, who are making significant contributions to Scotland’s Net Zero journey. It was launched in 2021 to coincide with Glasgow as the host city of COP26.
Commenting on their success, Peter Hutchinson, NatureScot Peatland ACTION Programme Strategy Manager said: "We are so very pleased to have won the Holyrood Climate Action Nature and the Environment Award. It is a vote of confidence not only in all those who work for Peatland ACTION, but the many, many landowners, agents, designers and contractors that work with us. Without them we could not achieve the massive benefits that landscape-scale peatland restoration can bring to Scotland’s climate and biodiversity. We hope that in winning the award we will encourage even more to work with us in the future."
Peatland ACTION, a programme led by Scottish Government and delivered in partnership with NatureScot, along with Scottish Water, Forestry & Land Scotland and Scotland’s two National Park Authorities, has put Scotland at the forefront of landscape-scale peatland restoration in Europe. By providing funding and on-the-ground support, along with the development of innovative techniques and technical know-how that are needed to successfully restore our peatlands, it plays a vital part in tackling Scotland’s climate and biodiversity crises. Peatland restoration also brings a range of other benefits including improving water quality, mitigating both flooding and wildfires, and providing new rural green jobs.
Healthy peatlands can capture and store ten times as much carbon as any other land-based habitat. But at present Scotland has nearly 2m hectares of damaged peatlands, contributing 15% of its annual greenhouse gas emissions – the same amount as all our domestic transport. The work that Peatland ACTION is doing with landowners has so far resulted in over 43,000 hectares of restoration work on damaged peatlands, giving it a significant role in helping Scotland achieve its net-zero target by 2045.
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Contact information
- Name
- NatureScot Media
- Telephone
- 0131 316 2655
- media@nature.scot
Notes to editors
Peatland ACTION media contact: peatlandactionmedia@nature.scot
About Peatland ACTION
Peatland ACTION’s aim is to restore 250,000 hectares of Scottish peatlands by 2030. Scottish Government has pledged £250m to achieve this, as part of the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plan for Net Zero. It is delivered in a partnership led by NatureScot, with Cairngorms and Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park Authorities, Scottish Water, and Forestry and Land Scotland, working together with landowners, organisations and communities.
Peatland ACTION provides:
- 100% grants for peatland restoration.
- Peatland ACTION project officers across Scotland supporting landowners by working on-the-ground with stakeholders: writing applications; doing surveys; managing contractors; and advising on all aspects of the process.
- Training for contractors, project designers, and surveyors in peatland restoration.
- Innovative research for surveying, practical restoration and monitoring at landscape-scale.
- A communications team promoting the value of healthy peatlands for climate, biodiversity, green economy and wellbeing.
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 Twitter at https://twitter.com/nature_scot
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