Online
United Kingdom
Join the British Ecological Society’s Peatlands and Wetlands Group in collaboration with the IUCN UK Peatland Programme for a discussion-focused workshop bridging research, policy and practice around the theme of UK peatland resilience.
Agenda
Keynote: Prof. Roxane Andersen
Peatland resilience in the context of climate and land use change: lessons from the Flow Country, Scotland
Invited short presentations from Defra, Natural England, NatureScot and Natural Resources Wales to stimulate discussion highlighting key themes around resilience.
The workshop "UK Peatland Resilience: Bridging Research, Policy, and Practice" aims to bring together experts from various fields to discuss the critical issue of peatland resilience under a changing climate in the United Kingdom. This discussion-focused event will explore the following key areas:
Current State of UK Peatlands
IUCN UK Peatland Programme Director Emma Hinchliffe will provide an overview of findings from the UK Peatland Strategy Progress Report 2024, including progress in peatland policy, restoration and protection and the key challenges remaining.
Climate Change Resilience
A key focus of the workshop will be the resilience of peatlands to climate change. Participants will develop a shared understanding of what peatland resilience means under a changing climate in the UK and examine why some peatlands appear more resilient than others, considering factors such as:
- The role of ecohydrological feedbacks in maintaining peatland resilience
- The potential for restored peatlands to withstand future climate pressures
Output Part 1: a statement of what peatland resilience means in a UK context, using examples to highlight different potential mechanisms or processes.
Research Priorities
Attendees will identify key knowledge and data gaps and prioritize research areas to enhance our understanding of peatland resilience. This may include:
- Long-term monitoring of intact AND restored peatlands
- Developing predictive models for peatland response to climate change
- Investigating innovative restoration techniques
Output Part 2: a prioritised list of knowledge and data gaps around peatland resilience.
Managing for resilient peatlands
The workshop will discuss current management approaches. Participants will evaluate the effectiveness of existing policies and propose improvements to align research findings with management practices.
Attendees will discuss peatland resilience in the context of current peatland management approaches and policy frameworks, identifying practical challenges and opportunities to managing peatlands under a changing climate, practical steps to implement research findings, and policy recommendations. This may include:
- Developing best practice guidelines for peatland restoration practitioners
- Creating a national research, policy, and practice network to facilitate knowledge exchange
- Exploring funding mechanisms to support long-term restoration and monitoring efforts
Output Part 3: A list of challenges and opportunities for the peatland community to manage peatlands under a changing climate.
By bringing together diverse stakeholders, this workshop aims to foster collaboration and develop a holistic approach to enhancing UK peatland resilience in the face of ongoing environmental challenges.
Workshop output
The tasks during the workshop will be organised to support a planned output that all attendees will be invited to contribute to. Volunteers will be selected to form a small working group to shape the output. The output will be a peer-reviewed publication and a briefing note that can be used both to stimulate research focus on peatland resilience as well as be informative for peatland managers.
Who should attend?
Join us for an engaging event designed to bring together both early-career researchers, academics, policy-makers and practitioners working on peatlands in the UK.