Carbon offsetting could fund regeneration of the uplands

Researchers on a project in the UK Research Councils' Rural Economy and Land Use Programme have identified a way of reducing carbon emissions from UK uplands – and are suggesting a radical new means of funding the work.

Currently peat deposits in England and Wales could store up to 41000 tonnes of carbon per year, if it were in pristine condition, but erosion and damage could mean that peatlands are actually releasing carbon into the atmosphere at a rate of 381,000 tonnes of carbon annually. So if we could restore the damaged and eroded peats to a pristine state, then the amount of carbon they store could be very significant – equivalent to two per cent of car traffic in England and Wales per year.

The immediate problem is how to fund such an extensive programme of restoration. Vast systems of drainage ditches were dug across the uplands during the 1950s, in an unsuccessful attempt to increase the productivity of the land. If these could be blocked then peat would begin to reform, but the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs suggests that the cost of blocking one hectare of peat drains is at least £188.

However, Dr Fred Worrall, from Durham University's Department of Earth Sciences and colleagues from the University of Leeds , on the RELU project, have come up with the idea of working with a carbon offsetting company that would allow consumers to offset their carbon footprint by paying for upland regeneration.

Dr Fred Worrall said: "These drainage ditches contribute to the degradation of upland areas all over Britain. Not only do they encourage the release of carbon into the atmosphere by drying out the peat, they also increase fire-risk, reduce the biodiversity of these unique habitats and contribute to discolouration of water supplies and downstream flooding."

Project Manager Dr Mark Reed from the University of Leeds' School of Earth and Environment added: "These ditches are the vestiges of unsuccessful attempts by man to increase agricultural productivity. As global warming increases because of greenhouse gas emissions, more carbon is released from peats, and we see a vicious cycle emerging. However, if we can break into that cycle by blocking the ditches that would be a positive step both for the climate and the local environment."