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- Report on the value of UK peatlands
Report on the value of UK peatlands
Posted on 13 September 2018
‘Natural Capital trade-offs in afforested peatlands: Evidence synthesis and needs for the future of peatland forestry and forest-to-bog restoration’ is written by Dr Richard Payne and William Jessop of the Department of Environment and Geography.
It’s one of four reports on ‘Natural Capital’ - natural assets which provide benefit to humans - which will enable organisations to take an evidence-based approach to valuing various aspects of the UK’s natural environment. The concept is a key part of the government’s 25-year environment plan, which will play an increasingly influential role in public policy and decision making.
Dr Payne explained why placing a monetary value on natural assets is necessary: “For decades the UK's peatlands were viewed as wastelands without any economic use, but viewing them through the lens of natural capital shows how valuable they really are.
“Difficult decisions need to be made about how we will manage afforested peatlands in the future. Our report highlights the key questions we need to answer to make these decisions and provides some of the answers.”
All four reports are published by the Valuing Nature Programme and summarise the science available to inform a Natural Capital approach in four key areas of the environment.
Dr Peter Young is chair of the Business Interest Group for the Valuing Nature Programme.
He said: “The UK has a world-class research capability in understanding and valuing the natural environment, but outputs are often hard to access and interpret for mainstream business. These reports provide accessible and authoritative knowledge which can be readily applied by all who impact in relevant natural assets as part of their core activities.”
Background information
The Valuing Nature Programme is a five-year £7m initiative funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Its aim is to improve understanding of the value of nature both in non-economic and economic terms, and to improve the use of these valuations in decision making. Co-ordinated by a multidisciplinary team and led by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, it funds research and also support researchers in making links with policymakers, businesses and practitioners through the Valuing Nature Network.
Funding
These reports were funded by NERC, through a competitive call run by the Valuing Nature Programme Coordination Team. NERC is the UK's main agency for funding and managing research, training and knowledge exchange in the environmental sciences. Its work covers the full range of atmospheric, Earth, biological, terrestrial and aquatic science, from the deep oceans to the upper atmosphere and from the poles to the equator. NERC co-ordinates some of the world's most exciting research projects, tackling major issues such as climate change, environmental influences on human health, the genetic make-up of life on Earth, and much more. NERC is part of UK Research & Innovation, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government.
Read the full report.