I read with keen interest the first dedicated peatland delivery plan in Scotland since 2017, when Scotland’s National Peatland Plan was produced. We have come a long way since then and the 2017 plan was devoid of numbers and a firm government target. What we have now, in 2025, is a remarkable suite of government legislative targets, a government-led partnership for delivery and a relatively healthy budget to support Scotland’s peatlands on the path to recovery. It is clear from my experience of working across the UK (and internationally) that Scotland is absolutely trail blazing.
The Plan sets out a vision of working together to achieve healthy peatlands which I think we can all get behind:
“Healthy peatlands are vital for Scotland's climate and nature goals and also offer key natural benefits - they store carbon, support biodiversity and nature, reduce the risk of flooding and wildfires and improve drinking water quality.”
Scottish Government is aiming to restore more than 400,000 hectares by 2040. This new target (increased from the 250,000ha by 2032) reflects an increase in ambition, and acknowledges the work still needed to grow this relatively young industry.
The model of public sector delivery partners in Scotland has been a success- giving a degree of control and autonomy at the regional level to these partners to deliver efficiencies in restoration practice. The accessibility of the scheme delivered through Peatland Action and its partners has been instrumental in mobilising fund public, private and voluntary sector stakeholders to carry out peatland restoration projects. This is demonstrated by the strengthening of private sector investment in peatland restoration with 336 Peatland Code projects ongoing in Scotland (out of a total of 401 projects currently in progress across the UK).
Add to the above the transparent mapping of projects, monitoring schemes, annual reporting, grant support for feasibility studies. Hurrah! Can we have that in all devolved nations, please?
But is there scope to push this further? Absolutely.
Beyond 2030- strengthening government signals for the longer term
We know long term signals are so important. And so, we do genuinely celebrate and welcome the refreshed, extended commitment to a 2040 target in Scotland. In terms of next steps, it is now critical to expand support for the longer-term. Some have critiqued the draft Climate Change Plan in not going far enough or signalling a slowing down of the ambition for restoration and this is accurate in terms of annual delivery of targets:
- 5,000 hectares restored in a year in 2020/21
- 14,860 hectares in 2024/25
- The draft CCP sets out that the Scottish Government wants to increase peatland restoration by 10% each year to 2030
- and maintain levels after that leading to the restoration of more than 400,000 hectares by 2040.
“Within this, we will look to increase the proportion of the most highly degraded and emitting peat that is restored. This new target reflects an increase in ambition, and acknowledges the work still needed to grow this relatively young industry."
Long-term commitment is also vital in securing the jobs that are noted in the report. Secure jobs give people the confidence to relocate to often remote areas, something which offers the opportunity for growth in areas that may have suffered from significant depopulation. This can also support wider government economic objectives for rural areas.
Strategic vision: wide-angle or selective focus?
I have some concerns about the almost laser focus on the most highly degraded peatland (I read this as focus on ‘actively eroding’). Whilst it is critical to focus on this as an opportunity to maximise preservation of peatland soil extent, minimise emissions from degraded peatland and represents the greatest opportunity for engaging the voluntary carbon market in peatland restoration we mustn’t forget our domestic and international biodiversity commitments. There needs to be strategic delivery across the full suite of peatland habitats types and types of degradation: ensuring that while we fix the worst examples that we aren’t letting our less damaged peatlands continue to lose the function and biodiversity that remains.
What I feel is important to focus minds on now is what happens post restoration? How can we monitor and sustainably manage our recovering peatlands for the foreseeable future to ensure the public and private investment made to date is protected? In theory, restoration is a short-term industry- if we get it right. Once a peatland is restored, the industry will need to be supported in a transition to maintenance and management for the longer term. We need to start signalling what this looks like now and put the foundations in place. I’ll add that to my wish list for 2026.
Recognition of shallow peat and accepted peatland definitions
The plan rightly acknowledges that “much of Scotland’s 2 million hectares of peatland are degraded (around 70%)”. But the figure of c. 2million hectares is linked to a spatial estimate of ‘deep peat’ soils across c. 2.6million hectares of Scotland. We know from previous assessments that the area of ‘peatland’ including the deep and functionally important shallow peat soils is estimated to be c. 3.6 to 5.1million ha in Scotland depending on the parameters used. There is no mention or indication of an assessment of the role of shallow peat or whether a future scheme will consider these shallow areas eligible for restoration and sustainable management support. These ‘lost peatlands’ are critical to supporting the Scottish Government ambition of healthy peatland landscapes.
