Lowland Peat Water Schemes Webinar

UK lowland peatlands, mostly in eastern England and drained for intensive agriculture, emit around 8.5 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent each year—88% of the country's total peat emissions. This comes from oxidation of exposed organic soils, a process accelerated by historic drainage for arable, horticultural and grassland use.

Degradation also causes subsidence of 1-2 cm annually in many areas, threatening the long-term productivity of some of Britain's most fertile farmland and worsening flood risks.

The most effective mitigation is raising water tables to rewet soils, which sharply reduces emissions while preserving peat.

Recent policy momentum stems from net zero by 2050 targets and the Sixth Carbon Budget, with the Climate Change Committee recommending that 60% of lowland peat be rewet or sustainably managed by 2050.

The December 2025 Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 committed £85 million for peat actions, prioritising lowland agricultural areas through grants for water infrastructure, exploration and trials of wetter farming and paludiculture.

This builds on pilots launched in 2024, including 13 water discovery projects and 21 small infrastructure installations to test rewetting approaches.

New schemes announced for rollout to 2030—Discovery Grants for partnerships to plan water management and Implementation Grants for actual infrastructure like water controls and monitoring—signal scaled-up government support for rewetting.

Farmers in key areas such as the Fens, Somerset Levels and Humberhead Levels face direct impacts: potential yield drops from higher water tables but also risks of unviable conventional farming as subsidence and future regulations intensify.

Wider effects include competition for water resources, roles for Internal Drainage Boards in delivery, biodiversity benefits from wetland restoration and emerging opportunities for carbon markets to finance change.