LIFE SUPER EU: Scaling Up Peatland Restoration in the EU

The EU has set ambitious climate and biodiversity goals (climate neutrality by 2050, 90% emissions reduction target by 2040, restorationof 30% of habitats not in a good conservation status by 2030, 60% by 2040, and on 90% until 2050). To reach the climate neutrality by 2050, virtually all drained peatlands should be rewetted. Time is of the essence.

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In spite of numerous EU-funded projects and other initiatives taking place for peatland restoration, the efforts are not even close to the level of magnitude that needs to be applied, to meet the EU climate and biodiversity goals. Upscaling peatland restoration is the major challenge in the EU and worldwide.

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Peatland restoration needs to be scaled up, and the bottlenecks that prevent that from happening should be eliminated with urgency. The goal of LIFE SUPER EU is to address remaining barriers to peatland restoration in Europe and to develop solutions to scaling it up.

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Over five years of the project partners will:

• restore approximately 1,300 hectares of degraded peatlands across the EU.

• develop a pipeline of over 15,000 hectares of restoration-ready projects.

• create innovative financing models to attract both public and private investment.

• build financial and technical capacity for long-term, large-scale restoration beyond the project period.

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The Foundation for Peatland Restoration and Conservation is one of the project partners. The project will allow us to restore a small peatland area owned by a farmer in Lithuania. Such small plots—typically 10–20 hectares—are a common form of land ownership in the country, which means that restoration requires coordination among multiple stakeholders alongside suitable technical solutions. This pilot restoration site will therefore demonstrate the significant potential of private financing for restoring other agriculturally used peatlands.

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All project partners: NABU e.V., Eurosite - the European Land Conservation Network, aeco GmbH, Rīgas Meži, Natuurpunt, Green Restoration Ireland Cooperative Society Ltd, Centrum Ochrony Mokradeł / Wetlands Conservation Centre, Pelkių atkūrimo ir apsaugos fondas / Foundation for Peatland Restoration and Conservation.

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Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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