Moors for the Future staff explain the MoorLIFE project to Poul Christensen, chair of Natural England, and Peak District National Park Authority leaders
A project to save some of the peat uplands of northern England will benefit from a £5½m European grant.
The MoorLIFE scheme was launched by Natural England chair Poul Christensen on the moors above Holmfirth in West Yorkshire.
The work, lasting five years, aims to protect the most vulnerable blanket bog over an 8 sq km area in the Peak District and South Pennines and will use a new technique developed by the Moors for the Future partnership that involves propagating sphagnum moss, one of the most important bog plants.
The EU Life+ grant for the scheme is the biggest ever in the UK and will be used to restore bare and eroding peat on the uplands which are covered by special area of conservation and special protection area status.
Reintroducing vegetation on to the bare peat helps stabilise it, minimising erosion which causes problems and extra costs in cleaning drinking water in the reservoirs fed by the moorland catchment areas. 70 per cent of the public’s drinking water comes from areas such as the peat moorlands.
The peat is also an important store of carbon – the biggest in the UK, equivalent to 20 years’ worth of total CO2 emissions in the UK.
The work will also lessen the risk of flooding by helping slow the flow of rainwater and reducing the severity of flash floods.
Mr Christensen said: “Damage to peatlands affects us all. As well as providing unique habitats for rare and special wildlife, peatlands are a vital buffer against climate change, they have a major role to play in alleviating flood risk and they help supply us with millions of litres of water every day.
“One third of England’s active blanket bog is found here in the Peak District, and it is extremely encouraging to see the work that is going on to restore this vital part of the nation’s natural infrastructure.”
The Sphagnum Propagation Project was developed by Manchester Metropolitan University and Micro Propagation Services with cash from Natural England and The Co-operative Foundation.
The MoorLIFE project is co-financed by the Environment Agency, National Trust, Natural England, United Utilities and Yorkshire Water.
