The National Peatland Action Programme
The National Peatland Action Programme
The National Peatland Action Programme is a 5 year plan of peatland restoration in Wales.
Welsh peatlands need urgent action to reverse habitat loss and their poor condition.
Peatlands support a variety of habitats and species, and have an important role in:
- capturing and storing carbon
- regulating greenhouse gases
- maintaining biodiversity
- regulating water
There has been a growing need for a national programme of coordinated restoration.
Restoration work
The National Peatland Action Programme has six priorities:
- Peatland erosion
- Peatland drainage
- Sustainable management of blanket peats
- Sustainable management of lowland peats
- The restoration of afforested peatlands
- The gradual restoration of our highest carbon emitting peatlands
The programme will target peatlands that need the most restoration and it aims to restore 600-800 hectares of public and private land every year. We restored over 650 hectares in the first year of the project (2020-21).
The programme will also safeguard peatlands that in good and recovering condition.
Grants to restore peatland
We have funding available for peatland restoration projects.
Wales Peatland Data Portal
The Wales Peatland Data Portal shows where peatlands are and the areas that need restoring. The interactive maps include:
- habitats that are supported by peat
- estimates of the carbon stored in Welsh peatlands
- estimates of greenhouse gas emissions
We will update the Portal as peatland is restored. This will include the effects on peatland condition, biodiversity and mitigating climate change.
Read more about Peatland Data Portal layers
Follow the work of the programme
A blog by one of our Project Officers about discovering an unusual alga - Natural Resources Wales / An Alga That Caught The Eye!
Follow us on social media #WelshPeatlandAction #NPAP.
Twitter @NatResWales
Facebook @NatResWales
View our YouTube playlist of videos about peatland restoration across Wales
Read our first year report (2020-21) (PDF)
National Peatland Action Programme 2020-2025 (PDF)
National Peatland Action Programme – Key Actions Years 1-5 (PDF)
Education resources about peatlands
Video about why peatlands are important and why we are restoring them
Other peatland projects
New LIFE for Welsh Raised Bogs
Anglesey and Llŷn Fens LIFE project
Contact us
Contact us for more information about the programme npap@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk.