Restoration of the Leidissoo peatland / Estonia

The Succow Foundation and PlanBe are pioneering international privately funded peatland restoration to meet climate change targets. Especially for peatland-rich countries like the Baltic States, which face hundreds of thousands of hectares of drained peatlands, such cooperation can be a model to support national emission reduction activities through private contributions. The Estonian State Forest Management Centre (RMK) is the largest contributor to conservation work in Estonia and, together with its partners, has restored more than 17,000 hectares of peatland and semi-natural habitats over the course of the last five years. 

 

The Succow Foundation will support the measures implemented in Estonia with the experience gained from its own peatland sites in north-eastern Germany in order to use restoration practices that are as successful as possible. Such projects are important beacons for the expansion of peatland rewetting throughout Europe. Rewetting should not be limited to nature reserves, but measures are also needed to mitigate CO₂ emissions from currently drained peatland sites used for agriculture, forestry and peat extraction. Therefore, solutions need to be developed and the policy framework adapted to enable implementation for land users and owners. Together with partners in the three Baltic countries, the Succow Foundation is pooling efforts to raise awareness and provide advice in the project Carbon sequestration by Baltic peatland farmers as part of the German government's European Climate Initiative (EUKI). 

 

Baisogala: Restoration of peat bogs on intensively used agricultural land as a protection against climate change

At present, 251,395 hectares of peatlands are used for agricultural purposes in Lithuania. Up to 95% of them are affected by drainage. They have thus lost many of their functions for nature, the climate and human wellbeing. They can no longer store organic carbon in their peat deposits, neither purify or store water, nor provide space for biodiversity. However, the restoration of drained peat areas is now (2021) part of the European Green Deal policy and must therefore also be emphasized stronger in national legislation in order to achieve the goals of climate protection policy.

The restoration of peatlands from intensively used agricultural land in Lithuania is only just beginning. In order to create a good practical example of this, the Succow Foundation and local partners, with the support of Tamm GmbH, are restoring the hydrological regime in a drained peatland area of ​​6 hectares in the village of Kemerai near the town of Baisogala. While doing so, they combine the interests of nature conservation, science and land users.