World Wetlands Day: Putting delicious peatlands on the spotlight
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Peatlands
To celebrate World Wetlands Day, which happens every 2nd February, we gathered peatlands experts and enthusiasts in Brussels the time of an afternoon, to exchange about co-creation, art, paludiculture and justice campaign for protecting our precious wetlands.
On of the highlight of the event was the launch of our paludiculture cookbook, Morsels from the Moor, which blends delicious recipes with practical insights on the relevance of peatlands and the potential of paludiculture as a restoration measure and sustainable land management practice.
Paludiculture is the productive land use of wet and rewetted peatlands that preserves the peat soil and thereby minimizes CO2 emissions and subsidence.
Get your digital copy of Morsels from the Moor below or reach out to get your physical copy!
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Reports from the ground
Attendees also had the opportunity to hear from two real-world pilot projects in paludiculture. Cyr Mestdagh from Natuurpunt introduced the LIFE Multi Peat project, which features Belgium’s first paludiculture initiative, involving the cultivation of willows on wet soils.
Moritz Adam then presented the work conducted under the ADMIRE project, which tackles six project areas across Belgium and the Netherlands. This initiative aims to establish a sustainable collaboration with stakeholders in various transition areas to explore adapted land management possibilities with the necessary financing mechanisms.
Finally, the young collective RE-PEAT (co-author of Morsels from the Moor) presented their Peatlands Justice Campaign, a two-year initiative addressing injustices related to peatland degradation and advocating for keeping peat in the ground.
This event served as an inspiring platform to promote wetland-friendly practices and showcase how sustainable farming and conservation can go hand in hand. Let’s continue to work together towards a future where wetlands thrive and peatlands are protected restored!
