Researchers’ recommendation: Opportunities for Peatlands and Paludiculture in the EU Common Agricultural Policy (2023-2027)

A network of international research organisations prepared a Policy Brief related to the topic of peatlands and paludiculture, containing recommendations for EU Member States for their CAP Strategic Plans. The Policy Brief was prepared for the EU Pavilion day at the COP26 United Nations Climate Conference, focused on agriculture, land-use and forestry. SOMPA was one of the projects involved in writing the brief. The main author for the compilation of …

Researchers’ recommendation: Agricultural policy reform should promote climate-smart agriculture

The European Union’s agricultural policy reform requires stronger climate measures also in agriculture. About half of greenhouse gas emissions in Finnish primary production is created by the cultivation of peat soils. Hence, the largest and quickest emission reductions are possible by changes in the agricultural practices on peat soils. A joint policy brief by seven research projects encourages to implement emission reduction and carbon sequestration measures both on peat and …

Policy brief: Definition of paludiculture in the CAP

The European common agricultural policy (CAP) is currently being outlined, and the realization of the emission reduction potential of peatlands is also being discussed. Would paludiculture turn peat fields from a problem into a solution? A number of European research institutes and associations received a request from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG Agri) to provide further information on wetland cultivation in the context of the …

Blog: Reaching sustainable peatland use in Europe – momentum for change in CAP reform?

Transforming drained peatsoils to paludiculture would help mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to the EU 2050 carbon neutrality agenda. Synergy effects with water and biodiversity protection and novel business opportunities are key advantages of paludiculture in comparison to many other peatland use methods. The climate impact of cultivated peatlands is significant as they are 2.5% of the total agricultural area but produce almost 25% of the total agricultural GHG …