Draft strategy for the Flow Country published
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A public consultation has been launched seeking local views on a new draft strategy for the peatlands of Caithness and Sutherland.
The strategy has been drafted by NatureScot – formerly Scottish Natural Heritage – on behalf of the Peatlands Partnership, which was formed in 2006, shortly after the production of the first management strategy for the area. It comprises a range of organisations involved in the management of the peatlands, who work together to implement the strategy.
It comes against the backdrop of a bid to secure World Heritage Site status for the Flow Country.
The Peatlands Partnership is chaired by Professor Stuart Gibb, of the Environmental Research Institute in Thurso.
He said: “It is 15 years since the original strategy was published by the Peatlands Partnership, identifying both need and opportunity for people to learn, enjoy and engage with peatlands. Since this time, our understanding of the role of peatlands in carbon storage, climate change and in ecosystem services more generally has grown vastly.
“This understanding has been developed and promoted through initiatives such as the Flows to the Future Project, overseen by the Peatlands Partnership. This five-year, £11 million project, support by the Heritage Lottery Fund, enabled restoration of blanket bog habitat on a previously unrivalled scale, and helped shift our societal understanding and appreciation of peatlands such as the Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland.
“Our new draft strategy seeks to build on this success, and includes the aspiration to secure inscription of the Flow Country as a Unesco World Heritage Site. It also recognises recent changes in public sector policy, including the Scottish Government’s declaration of a climate emergency and biodiversity crisis, and ‘green recovery’ opportunities emerging from the global Covid-19 pandemic.
"However, as with the original strategy, we aim to embed the relationship between people and peatlands at the heart of our new approach.”
Graham Neville, NatureScot’s Northern Isles and north Highland area manager, said: “This important area of expansive blanket bog requires careful management at the landscape scale to ensure that it remains healthy. The communities and businesses that depend on the peatlands all have a stake in this, and the strategy aims to co-ordinate action to enhance and promote it through sustainable land management and community development.
“Since 2005, we have seen major advances in peatland restoration and related research. Research into the impact of forestry on adjacent peatland and on restoration techniques has guided the removal of inappropriately planted trees and the blocking of peatland drains and furrows across Caithness and Sutherland to raise the water table to facilitate bog re-creation.
“The Peatland ACTION project is helping to restore damaged peatlands across Scotland, and in February the Scottish Government announced an additional investment in peatland restoration of more than £250 million over the next 10 years.
"Our strategy will help to target these funds to Caithness and Sutherland, supporting the rural economy through the creation and development of land-based jobs and skills and providing a nature-based solution to the climate crisis.”
The Flow Country is one of the world’s most extensive areas of blanket bog. The peatland supports a wide range of wildlife, helps regulate the climate and is an important store for carbon.
The Peatlands of Caithness and Sutherland draft management strategy can be viewed via the Highland Council consultation portal or by emailing Janet Bromham at info@loch-side.co.uk
