The Department for Environment, Food And Rural Affairs has awarded a contract for a Peat Evidence Review with an estimated total value of £276,000 (inc VAT) to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) UK Peatland Programme which is hosted by The Wildlife Trusts.
The Department for Environment, Food And Rural Affairs has awarded a contract for a Peat Evidence Review with an estimated total value of £276,000 (inc VAT) to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) UK Peatland Programme which is hosted by The Wildlife Trusts.
The project will synthesise the latest European and UK research on peatlands to support future policy development in England. It will explore a wide range of policy-relevant questions, including:
- how peat restoration affects water quality, aquatic ecosystems, and flood risk;
- the changes in biogeochemical processes following rewetting;
- the greenhouse gas emissions associated with restoration activities and forest-to-bog conversion.
It will also investigate the resilience of peatland carbon stocks under climate change, the impacts and thresholds of grazing, the criteria for identifying unrestorable sites, and the potential for quantifying and monetising non-carbon benefits such as biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Each question will be examined in terms of evidence strength, quality, uncertainty, and scientific consensus, and findings will be organised into thematic chapters led by subject-matter experts to provide an evidence-based policy report.
The reports can be utilised as an evidence base to inform future policy and research by Defra and by others in the peatland community.
Current estimated start and end contract dates are 5 November 2025 to 16 March 2027, with a further possible extension to 17 September 2027 in the event of unforeseen circumstances
The direct contract award without competition was made to the single supplier for technical reasons on the basis that the project is a research requirement and therefore exempt from publication.
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