Europe's ecosystems should be functioning again by 2050. The EU's renaturation regulation requires the rewetting of some agricultural areas. Restoring moors is good for climate protection and biodiversity, because living moors serve as carbon sinks. For comparison: Forests cover one third of our planet's land surface, moors three per cent. And yet moors bind twice as much carbon as all the forests on earth! However, when moors are drained, the millennia-old carbon reservoirs are transformed into CO2 emitters.
In order to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the EU is promoting the research, mapping and renaturation of wetlands. The EU law on renaturation stipulates that 30 per cent of drained moors must be "repaired" by the end of this decade, a quarter of which will be rewetted. By 2050, half of the damaged moors are expected to be "healed" - a third of them through rewetting. Farmers receive money or compensation land. The Member States are responsible for implementing the renaturation regulation. The first plans should be available next year.
