The European Commission is urging the United Kingdom to stop burning blanket bog habitats within upland Natura 2000 sites in England and to take measures to restore the damaged habitats.

Blanket bogs are considered to be priority habitats under the Habitats Directive when they are active (i.e. non-degraded)- the Commission says their conservation status in England is seriously declining.

According to the EC, for a number of years the UK authorities have allowed the damaging practice of burning blanket bogs within the English Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), without the appropriate assessment required by the Habitats Directive.

The Commission first warned the United Kingdom about breaches of the Habitats Directive in a letter of formal notice sent in April 2016. However, the Commission has now sent a final warning, saying that burning of blanket bog habitats within the protected sites is currently still continuing.

The UK now has two months to provide a response; otherwise, the case may be referred to the Court of Justice of the EU.

UK blanket bog resource has European importance

The UK has a special responsibility for protection of this priority habitat type. 

The Joint Nature Conservation Committee, the public body that advises the UK Government and devolved administrations on UK-wide and international nature conservation, said that under the EC Habitats Directive the largest sites with the most extensive areas of active blanket bogs have been favoured. The large number of sites selected (covering a total area of over 350,000 ha) reflect the European importance of the UK blanket bog resource.

The UK has between 10-15% of the total global area of blanket bog, making it one of the most important international locations for this habitat.

Other threats to the fragile blanket bogs in addition to burning include:

• domestic or commercial peat extraction
• agricultural improvement
• new and old drainage ditches
• application of fertilisers
• afforestation by conifers
• and development.

The construction of wind farms and communication masts in particular, together with associated infrastructure such as access and maintenance roads e.g. links to the national grid via landlines or more usually pylons have also been flagged up as having a potentially adverse impact on very fragile blanket bog during the construction phase.

Eutrophication of water supply via run-off from road drainage, agricultural pollution and nutrient enrichment from sewage has also been identified as an issue.

According to the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), the total extent of blanket peat in the UK amounts to just under 1.5 million hectares. England supports some 215,000ha, Scotland approximately 1,060,000ha, Wales has around 70,000ha while Northern Ireland has approximately 140,000ha of blanket bog vegetation.

Significant proportions of peat soil, probably in excess of 10%, no longer support blanket bog vegetation. The BAP says that while comprehensive data for changes to the total UK resource are lacking, studies inScotland (where most of the resource lies and where it accounts for some 13% of the land area) suggest a 21% reduction in the extent of blanket mire between the 1940s and the 1980s.

In the context of climate change the role of blanket bogs as a carbon store is also now considered significant.

UK water firms play active role via a range of £ multi-million catchment management initiatives

Last week the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs announced the launch by the Government of a new £10 million grant scheme to restore England’s peatlands  - the peatlands provide 70 per cent of drinking water.

The UK water companies play an active role in addressing the issue via a range of £multi-million catchment management initiatives. In February Yorkshire Water announced details of  a scheme which forms part of a £2 million programme in support of Natural England to improve the condition of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).  

Centuries of change have led to Yorkshire’s peatland habitats being degraded. Over the next four years the utility will conserve and enhance 43 square miles of Yorkshire’s peat moorland – much of which is owned by the water company and designated as SSSI.