As environments, peatlands have undergone a remarkable transformation over the last few decades from “Cinderella” habitats, regarded as ecologically worthless in the 1980s, to today’s ecosystem superstars – crucial for biodiversity, carbon capture and regulating the water supply. This new appreciation has seen a rise in media coverage of these special places.
But peatlands across the world have been hugely damaged by human activities such as drainage, agriculture and peat cutting. The recent COP27 conference saw the launch of a UN’s Environment Programme Global Peatlands Initiative assessment. This initiative draws attention to the loss and damage of peatlands, and the importance of rehabilitation and restoration in tackling global warming and the biodiversity crisis.
Peatlands are also important for culture and heritage, preserving sites and artefacts threatened by climate change if these wetlands continue to dry out and degrade. Recent excavation and analyses at the Mesolithic peatland site of Agerod in Sweden has demonstrated significant deterioration of important archaeological remains over the last 75 years.
