The Bogfather is Restoring Peatland to Fight Climate Change

Dr Peter Jones has spent the past 30 years immersed - quite literally - in bogs, fens and wetlands, trying to help save the planet and earning himself the nickname The Bogfather in the process.

Peter "The Bogfather" Jones | National Peatland Action Programme

Here's an extraordinary fact: Peatlands exist around the world, but make up only about 3 percent of global land area. However, their deep layers of peat are treasure chests of carbon, overall containing roughly twice as much as the world’s forests, which cover 30 percent of global land area.

These soggy peatland landscapes are now at the forefront of the climate crisis and Jones is a man on a mission. He has been making an offer that policymakers are finding hard to refuse, a nature-based solution that tackles climate change, flooding, wildfires and biodiversity loss all at the same time. Peatlands store about one third of Wales' land-based carbon, despite covering only 4 percent of the surface, but they are almost all degraded.

Healthy peatland can slow the flow of water, helping prevent flooding, and act as natural firebreaks during wildfires - both of which are expected to become more common as the climate warms - and protecting them has become Jones's lifelong mission.

Jones and his colleagues help farmers and landowners restore peatland which, when healthy, is home to "a whole range of animals, including many scarce or threatened invertebrates" and he is committed to restoring around about 1,800 hectares (4,500 acres) per year by the end of 2030.

Mike Waddington, a peat researcher at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, says there “is a very compelling case” in favour of restoring peatlands. “When we think about storing carbon in ecosystems, it’s almost always about planting trees. There’s often tremendous pressure to plant trees in drained peatlands," he said, "but that’s the wrong choice given the carbon-storing ability of an intact bog."

“In a way it’s the low-hanging fruit,” he added.

Meanwhile, further north in the UK, the Flow Country made history by becoming the world's first peatland UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in Caithness and Sutherland in northern Scotland, this 190,000-hectare (almost 500,000 acres) blanket bog is one of the planet’s most effective natural carbon stores, locking away an estimated 400 million tonnes of carbon. By securing this status, the Flow Country joins global environmental icons like the Serengeti and the Great Barrier Reef. It is celebrated not only for its critical role in mitigating climate change but also for its unique ecosystems that support rare flora and fauna.

Professor Thompson, NatureScot’s principal science adviser and an architect of the world heritage site bid, said the Flow Country is "the single largest peat deposit in the world and therefore it’s the single largest carbon repository in the world; it’s the world’s largest in terms of one block, one expanse of blanket bog.”