Industry News

A significant international collaboration to support peatland restoration in the North
Pennines National Landscape has been announced by German environmental
association, the Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU).

The €1.1 million investment will be used to restore valuable peatlands in the North
Pennines, helping to promote better global climate regulation. Healthy peatlands are
vital for biodiversity and provide multiple benefits for society, such as flood mitigation,
improving water quality, and storing carbon.

The funding will support work on over 900 hectares of degraded peatland on five key
North Pennines sites in Cumbria and County Durham. Restoring this land area,
equivalent to over 1200 football pitches, will improve habitat quality and restore water
levels of the blanket bog. All the land is in private ownership, and the project is being
carried out in collaboration with landowners and land managers.

Paul Leadbitter, Peatland Programme Manager with the North Pennines National
Landscape team, said: “We’re really pleased to be working with NABU, and to be
delivering this project that meets their ambition to address the climate and biodiversity
crises.

“This is a significant and very welcome investment and is the first funding we have had
from a non-UK partner since our EU LIFE programme that began in 2017. The North
Pennines National Landscape team is leading the way in attracting green finance for
such large-scale environmental projects.”

NABU is the oldest and largest environment association in Germany, with more than
940,000 members and supporters, who commit themselves to the conservation of
threatened habitats, flora, and fauna, climate protection and energy policy.

Frank Woesthoff, who leads NABU’s climate fund, said: “Nature knows no borders and at
NABU we work tirelessly to protect species, habitats, and climate, at home and abroad.
We are committed to projects around the globe, empowering strong local partners to
take action for nature conservation, and against the climate and biodiversity crises.
“Peatlands are a priority for NABU and we are very pleased to be putting this funding in
place to directly improve these valuable habitats in order to bring them back to their
natural state.”

The collaboration with NABU began after the North Pennines National Landscape team
presented at a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) partner webinar on
green finance.

The NABU investment contributes to the North Pennines National Landscape team’s
work as part of the Great North Bog coalition, an ambitious, large-scale peatland
restoration initiative being developed by the North Pennines National Landscape team,
the Yorkshire Peat Partnership,the Moors for the Future Partnership, the
Northumberland Peat Partnership, Cumbria Peat Partnership, and Lancashire Peat
Partnership. The Great North Bog coalition partnerships are led by National Park
Authorites, National Landscapes teams, and Wildlife Trusts, collaborating with local
partners to bring large-scale benefits for people and nature.

NABU Federal Managing Director, Leif Miller, said: "With the NABU climate fund, we are
pursuing the goal of saving peatlands on a much larger scale than before. This is
because peatlands are the most effective, but also the most damaged, natural carbon
reservoir. Unfortunately, we have only been able to use some of the funds we raise from
industry in Germany so far. We are therefore particularly pleased to be working with the
North Pennines National Landscape team, which has years of experience in the rapid
implementation of large-area programmes."

The Great North Bog is a landscape-scale approach to upland peatland restoration and
conservation across nearly 7000 square kilometres of peatland soils in the Protected
Landscapes of northern England, storing 400 million tonnes of carbon. The programme
aims to develop a working partnership to deliver a 10-year funding, restoration, and
conservation plan to make a significant contribution to the UK’s climate and carbon
sequestration targets.