The Environment Agency has made a direct contract award without competition to a single supplier for Lowlands Peat Evidence Synthesis and knowledge gaps with an estimated value of £117,800 including VAT.

Since the publication of the 2021 Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force report, Defra and its delivery partners have funded a wide range of projects exploring the feasibility and implications of raising water tables and higher water table management in lowland peat, primarily within agricultural landscapes.

The projects have examined different facets of higher water table management, including greenhouse gas emissions reduction, hydrology and water management, paludiculture, and changes to land & water management practices.

This latest project is being commissioned to synthesise and interpret the collective findings from the studies to generate new insights, improve understanding of water environment impacts and identify priorities for further research.

The contract, which was signed on 2 September 2026, will run from 2 September 2026 to 8 March 2027.

The project, which has been procured under the Flood and Water Lot on the open Environmental Science Research, Development and Evidence (ES RDE) Framework,  has been awarded to infrastructure specialists Moffatt and Nichol