It's #BiodiversityDay and as good a time as any to talk about how important it is we #RestoreNature 🌳
Working on the issue of peatlands for 2 years really opened my eyes to how much humans have destroyed. The picture in Europe particularly is pretty stark - over 50% of all peatlands have been drained for agriculture, and in the UK alone, that jumps up to over 80%... and they're being lost 10x faster than they are growing 😓
Yet #peatlands are some of the best nature-based solutions we have for addressing the climate and biodiversity crises that are playing out as we speak. They suck up and store carbon whilst creating a wetland environment that's home to all sorts of amazing plant and animal life amongst a whole host of other ecosystem services. So why don't they get more attention?
Often, restoring #wetlands like peatland is seen to be at odds with agriculture and food production. But that simply isn't the case.
🌱 Food systems need nature for growth and pollination.
🌱 Food systems need reliable sources of water.
🌱 Food systems are under threat from ever-increasing wildfires and droughts as a result of climate change, which wetlands can help mitigate.
🌱 New food systems and products can be grown in peatlands via wet farming or 'paludiculture', creating new economic opportunities for farmers.
🌱 and let's not forget, some food systems are using up way more land, water and resources than needed to produce the food we require (did you know livestock take up 80% of all agricultural land yet provide less than 20% of global calorie supply?)
Restoring nature and ensuring food security shouldn't be in competition, they should be in collaboration. And we need to start rewetting part of our lost peatlands now to begin tackling the very real #climateemergency we are living through. 🌍
If you're interested, you can read more about our previous peatland programme here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e-5a4egt
#restorenaturenow #climateaction