Peat Extraction Sector Strategy: Upscaling peatland restoration through nature-based solutions in the landscape: EU H2020 research and innovation project MERLIN Deliverable 4.5.

1. This Strategy supports Europe’s Peat Extraction Sector in driving landscape peatland restoration by leveraging its after-use expertise. It targets private peat extraction companies, NGOs and research institutions engaged in peatland research and management and national and EU regulators, who provide the policy framework for implementation.
2. The Sector engages in rewetting after peat extraction. When appropriate, rewetting could be enhanced to speed up peat accumulation and ecosystem recovery through supporting revegetation by biological means.
3. Restoration as after-use faces issues regarding regulations, funding, landownership, constitutional rights and complex landscape conditions, limiting efforts to exceed legal requirements for restoration and deterring the Peat Extraction Sector from joining landscape restoration initiatives.
4. Enhancing after-use plans to prioritise rewetting and revegetation – applied only where appropriate – through participation in landscape peatland restoration initiatives can enable the Sector to connect individual site restoration initiative to the broader landscape. This approach maximises ecosystem benefits and addresses carbon emissions, while recognising that revegetation is not a one-size-fits-all solution.
5. This Strategy outlines five key actions to address the identified issues; enable the Sector to prioritise restoration as the main after-use; and collaborate with other stakeholders for landscape peatland restoration. The five actions are:
a) Build knowledge to increase understanding of nature-based solutions for peatland restoration and its implications for the Peat Extraction Sector.
b) Enhance after-use plans to prioritise rewetting and revegetation of peat extraction sites.
c) Initiate landscape authorities and partnerships to embed rewetting and revegetation of peat extraction sites to support landscape restoration and good-practice peatland management.
d) Develop policy and regulatory frameworks to enable landscape-scale peatland restoration as a core licensing requirement.
e) Develop clear and viable business incentive enabling the Peat Extraction Sector to support restoration beyond the peat extraction site.
6. This Strategy marks the beginning of the process needed for better landscape peatland restoration. While the Peat Extraction Sector is encouraged to engage stakeholders for its implementation, success will depend on collaboration with European Member State agencies to coordinate the process, and a just transformation that balances economic needs with ecological goals, rewards restoration efforts, and ensures participation of all stakeholders.