Conference 2026: Peatlands Under Pressure

• ~400 delegates at this year’s event. Delegates will be able to join online on Tuesday 9 June only, or in-person for the entire event or individual days.
• Exhibition and networking opportunities at our evening poster session and meal on 9 June, our evening conference dinner on 10 June, and throughout the event.
• Visits to locally important peatland sites on 10 June, including options from a range of peatland habitats, and experience of different management and restoration techniques first-hand in a beautiful landscape.
• Deep-dives into a range of themed topics at our workshop and knowledge-sharing sessions on 11 June.

Tuesday 9 June (live streamed)

• Plenary sessions exploring progress towards national peatland strategy in Wales and how we understand and navigate the challenges peatlands face from development, land management pressures and climate change.
• The return of our ‘Peatland Cinema’, featuring short films from across the peatland community to educate, intrigue and inspire.
• Evening meal and poster session featuring contributions from across the peatland community, alongside our dedicated exhibition space for partners and sponsors.

Wednesday 10 June

• Choose from 8 field trip options to local peatland sites, featuring different peatland habitats, management and restoration techniques and introducing a range of organisations involved in peatland management. Lunch and transport will be provided from the main conference venue and delegates will be required to select field trips in advance on a first come, first served basis. Field trip bookings will be released in May.
• Conference dinner, networking and evening entertainment with the Allan yn Y Fan twmpath band.

Thursday 11 June

• Morning and afternoon topic deep dives across a range of themes including data and monitoring, climate change, wildfire, community and land manager engagement, paludiculture, private finance and horticultural peat. Delegates will be required to select workshops in advance on a first come, first served basis and workshop bookings will be released in May.
• Plenary sessions on private finance and addressing peatland pressures at scale.
• Presentation of the Lindsay Peatland Conservation Award.

Conference tickets are available to purchase through TicketTailor. In-person ticket sales close at midday on 25 May. Online ticket sales (Day 1 only) close at midday on 3 June.  

Field visits and workshops / knowledge sharing sessions must be booked in advance of the conference on a first come, first served basis. Once you have purchased your ticket, you will be informed by email as soon as the full programme of field visits and workshops is available and open for bookings in May.

Accommodation is not offered as part of our ticket options, and on-campus accommodation bookings have now closed. There are still many accommodation options available off-campus.

Swansea is well connected by public transport, and we encourage our delegates to use low-carbon travel options wherever possible. GWR offer 50% off rail tickets when using their network to travel to the event.

Visit our dedicated travel and accommodation webpage to find out more.

Please note: acceptance of an abstract does not include conference registration. If you would like to attend the conference, you will still need to register for a ticket via TicketTailor.

Day 1 of the conference will include a dedicated Poster Session, and we are pleased to share a list of accepted abstracts below.

The poster submission process is now closed. We kindly ask presenters to print their own poster and bring it with them to conference registration on Tuesday 9 June. Posters should be portrait format and A0 size.

If you would like a digital version of your poster to be added to the Peatland Programme website after the conference, email a PDF copy to info@iucn.org.uk by 12 June.

The Peatland Programme is a non-profit organisation and our conferences are only possible thanks to the support of our dedicated partners, supporters and sponsors. We are currently seeking sponsors to showcase their work by supporting the conference financially. This year’s venue features dedicated exhibition space available across the three days, and we’re also offering the opportunity to sponsor various aspects of the event, including supporting those on low incomes to attend. If you are interested in supporting us and/or exhibiting this year, view the available packages in our sponsorship brochure and contact info@iucn.org.uk. 

At our 2025 conference, we presented the inaugural ‘Lindsay Peatland Conservation Award’ to Richard Lindsay, in recognition of his contribution to the advancement of peatland knowledge and conservation both in the UK and globally. This year, we welcomed nominations from across the peatland community and the winner will be announced at the conference closing plenary.