About the project 

Rewetting five project sites in Europe

The LIFE Multi Peat project aims to restore degraded peatlands by rewetting five project sites across Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Poland. The close monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions on the restoration sites will help to understand how peatland restoration can contribute to climate change mitigation. In addition, the project aims to test and disseminate alternative wet land use options, i.e. paludiculture, as a sustainable alternative to drainage-based agriculture on peatlands. Close networking and knowledge exchange with experts on peatland restoration and management will support the development of evidence-based peatland policy. 

We need healthy Peatlands

On a global scale, the EU is the second largest emitter of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) stemming from degraded peatlands. Approximately seven per cent of the total EU GHG emissions come from drained peatlands that are being used for agriculture or forestry. 

In addition to helping regulate the climate, healthy peatlands provide many other essential ecosystem functions. They act as natural flood control and groundwater filters and provide habitats for threatened species. Rewetting helps to restore the natural functions of peatlands. Raising water levels in peatlands immediately reduces GHG emissions and, in the long term, also helps to restore the peatlands function of accumulating organic carbon. By rewetting degraded peatlands in five countries, the LIFE Multi Peat project now aims to convert an urgent climate crisis into a sustainable pathway to the future. 

Project Facts

Project title 
LIFE Multi Peat  

Countries 
Poland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland 

Period 
2021 to 2026  

Partners 
NABU, Natuurpunt, National University of Ireland, Natuurmonumenten, Eurosite - the European Land Conservation Network, Klub Przyrodników, Ogólnopolskie Towarzystwo Ochrony Ptaków (OTOP)

Sponsored by / supported by 
LIFE Climate Change Mitigation Programme  

With this project we are contributing to the following SDGs 
Directly: SDG 12, SDG 13 and SDG 15 
Indirectly: SDG 3, SDG 6 and SDG 17