Farmers offered £47m to protect England’s peatlands

Farmers and land managers in England are being offered new funding to help protect peat soils, manage water levels and develop wetter farming systems as part of a £47 million government package.

The funding will support projects aimed at cutting carbon emissions from degraded peatlands, improving water resilience, supporting nature recovery and boosting rural economies. Grants will be available for farmers, land managers, drainage boards, water companies and environmental organisations.

The money forms part of a wider £85 million peat programme running to 2030.

England’s peat soils store more than half of the country’s terrestrial carbon, making them an important nature-based tool in tackling climate change. But centuries of drainage, much of it linked to agriculture, have left many peatlands dry and degraded.

When peat dries out, the organic matter it contains breaks down and releases carbon into the atmosphere. Around 80% of England’s peatlands are now in a dry and degraded state.

Ministers say restoring and re-wetting peat can help keep more carbon locked in the ground, support wildlife, improve resilience to drought and reduce the risk of flooding.

The funding, announced following London Climate Action Week, will be delivered through three schemes covering different peatland challenges.

The largest share, £36 million, will go to the Lowland Peat Water Implementation Grant, delivered by the Environment Agency. It will fund water management infrastructure in lowland peat areas, helping farmers and land managers raise and control water tables while managing flood risk.

Previous pilot projects in the Fens, Somerset Levels and Yorkshire have shown how water infrastructure can help retain more water, protect peat and manage flood risk.

A further £10 million will go to the Paludiculture and Wetter Farming Fund, delivered by Natural England. Paludiculture, often described as wetter farming, involves growing crops on rewetted peat soils rather than continuing to drain them.

The fund will support research into growing and harvesting crops on wetter peat, as well as developing viable markets for them. Trials have already seen wetland plants and bulrush used to create building materials and jacket insulation, showing how lower-emission peatland farming could also create new income streams.

The new grants are intended to scale up that work and support larger, more coordinated projects across lowland peatland landscapes.

A third scheme, the £1.15 million Peatland Restoration Sector Capacity Grant, will be delivered by Defra. It will fund training, apprenticeships, equipment and community engagement to build the workforce and skills needed to restore peatland at greater scale.

Lowland peat includes some of England’s most productive agricultural land, meaning ministers face the challenge of reducing emissions from degraded soils while keeping farms viable.

In areas where farming continues, the focus will be on protecting peat through improved water management and more sustainable land use. Where restoration is already planned or underway, the capacity grant will support delivery and help build local skills.

The government says the measures are designed to safeguard productive farming, support food security and strengthen the rural economy while delivering climate and nature benefits.

Nature Minister Mary Creagh said: “Peatlands are as vital to the U.K. as the Amazon rainforest is to Brazil but too many of them are degraded and releasing carbon rather than locking it in.”

She added: “These new grants will support better water management on farms, new types of wetter farming, or upskilling local people to restore peatland.”

Tony Grayling, Director of Nature and Place at the Environment Agency, said the Lowland Peat Water Implementation Grant was a “significant opportunity” for farmers and land managers.

He said the scheme would help them invest in infrastructure to protect peatlands for the future. He added that the grants would enable more sustainable management of water levels in lowland peatlands, helping to reduce carbon emissions, improve water resilience and support nature recovery.

Sarah Dawkins, Deputy Director of Peatland Restoration at Natural England, said the Paludiculture and Wetter Farming Fund would support partnerships between businesses, land managers and communities.

She said the projects would help reduce drainage of lowland peatlands while producing viable crops suited to wetter conditions.

“These projects will deliver multiple benefits, including healthier ecosystems, improved water and soil management, greater climate resilience, and reduced carbon emissions,” she said.

Defra said the programme reflects its wider aim of using land in ways that support food production, nature and climate goals together.