Oct
We have destroyed a vast number of wetlands in Europe. For centuries, land was drained, and water was diverted from fields and meadows. Today we already know how many negative consequences this has brought. In the era of climate change and biodiversity crisis, we need tools that can support the process of wetland restoration.
Peatland Restoration Atlas – origins and principles
The Finns from the non-governmental organization Snowchange Cooperative gathered their experience in peatland restoration into one interactive map and invited partners from Poland (Polish Society for the Protection of Birds, BirdLife Poland) and Ukraine (Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group) to contribute.
Presenting the concept of the Peatland Restoration Atlas during an international online conference held in June this year as part of a project financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers, Tiina Oinonen said:
One of our goals is to build an understanding of different kinds of pressures that peatlands are facing across Europe […]. By visualizing this data in shared platform we can help to identify common challenges, and regional differences which is essential for designing targeted and effective conservation strategies.
Broad cooperation for peatlands
The exchange of knowledge and experience makes it possible to identify the common points of restoration: from blocking drainage ditches, through habitat recovery, to rewetting degraded areas. In its English version, the atlas presents nearly 200 locations where local and often radical actions have been taken. The experience of Snowchange Cooperative has been expanded with examples from Poland and Ukraine (OTOP and UNCG each added ten sites where they carry out their daily work).
The creators of the atlas invite municipalities, researchers, non-governmental organizations, and local communities to use its resources. They encourage comparing methods and tracking solutions that prove effective in the long term. Because without living peatlands, we cannot fix the climate, and without water, our ecosystems will be neither resilient, nor safe, nor healthy.
The atlas is available in Polish (OTOP materials): www.peatlandrestorationatlas.org/pl and in English (full version by the three NGOs – from Finland, Poland, and Ukraine): www.peatlandrestorationatlas.org/en
Main photo credit: Magdalena Gościniak; Bela Nature Reserve
Project information:
Project title: Nature-based solutions in open wetlands restoration for biodiversity, water quality improvement and climate mitigation.
Implementation period: October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025.
Project budget: 509,975 Danish kroner
Project partners: Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (Українська природоохоронна група; Ukraine) and Snowchange Cooperative (Finland).
Funding: Nordic Council of Ministers (Nordisk Ministerråd)
