Eurosite Annual Meeting 2024 in Durham, England
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Peatlands
Wetlands International Europe participated in the Eurosite Annual Meeting 2024 in Durham (England), on 22-24 October 2024.
Eurosite annual meeting brings together European landowners, farmers and conservationists aiming at protecting and restoring private lands for nature, and tackling climate change effects in Europe. This year, the Eurosite network reflected on the current state of both the EU and UK nature conservation philosophies post-Brexit.
In the shape of a two-days workshop, the Eurosite annual meeting addressed nature conservation issues through various perspectives, ranging from policy to finance, management and partnership. It also offered to the 140 participants best-practice exchanges and collaboration opportunities.
As part of the Eurosite network, we had the opportunity to actively contribute as panelists in a workshop on paludiculture, where experts – including representatives from Galway University and Lancashire Wildlife Trust – shared national perspectives and practical examples of this innovative practice. Alongside our members Pelkiu Fundas (Lithuania) and CMok (Poland), we enriched the discussion with a crucial policy perspective, explaining how paludiculture is reflected into European policies like the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Nature Restoration Law (NRL).
Spotlight on the North Pennines’ peatland
A third day was dedicated to a field visit in the North Pennines, a 900 square kilometres peatland located in England mostly made of blanket bog, a unique type of peat habitat found only in cool, wet regions of the world. These bogs are unique for the wildlife they host, their ability to maintain drinking water quality, and their flood control and their significant carbon value capacities.
This fieldtrip gave us the opportunity to know more about the North Pennines restoration programme, which aims to conserve and enhance this internationally important peatland resource and to promote peatland conservation at global level.