Understanding ecostytem stocks and tipping points in UK blanket peatlands (short form: Peatland Tipping Points)
Lead Research Organisation:
Newcastle University
Department Name: Sch of Natural & Environmental Sciences
Abstract
The aim of this project is to use UK peatlands as a case system in which to understand how the combined effects of climate change and changes in land use and management (and other drivers, such as atmospheric deposition) may trigger tipping points in the provision ecosystem services. The project will specifically consider tipping points for water quality, climate mitigation and cultural services including biodiversity, recreation, tourism and sense of place. The research will then assess the economic, social and cultural value of avoiding these tipping points versus reaching them, and we will use these insights to inform management and policy to enhance the resilience of natural systems to abrupt changes in future.
As the most extensive and well-understood peatland habitat, we focus on blanket bogs, which are the UK's single largest carbon stock. The project will produce research findings in three themes:
1. Triggers: the research will consider how changes in climate, land use and management might trigger regime shifts in in blanket peatlands to degraded states. It will consider the range of biophysical and social factors that may influence whether these shifts also trigger tipping points in the provision of ecosystem services over space and time. Where possible, we will identify early warnings that may indicate systems are heading towards tipping points
2. Values: the research will assess the likely ecological, economic, social and cultural impacts of reaching tipping points in the provision of climate regulation, water quality and cultural services (including biodiversity) in blanket peatlands, and provide decision-makers with holistic evidence to guide decisions about whether, where and how to restore these habitats to avoid tipping points for specific ecosystem services
3. Adaptive management: working closely with stakeholders, the research will consider how different forms of peatland restoration might move blanket peatlands from current degraded states to desirable new stable states that can adaptively sustain the provision of ecosystem services from peatlands under future climate change. Working in collaboration with the IUCN UK Peatland Programme, the owners of the UK Peatland Code, the projects will explore opportunities for private investment combined with existing agri-environment scheme to adaptively manage and avoid tipping points in peatland ecosystem services.
Research findings from each of these themes will provide a range of benefits for policy and practice:
* Evidence of ecosystem service tipping points in UK blanket peatlands that can help prioritise policy measures to prevent key tipping points being reached. Recommendations will include practical restoration and other management options that could be incentivised via Rural Development Programmes , Peatland Action (in Scotland) and the UK Peatland Code, and spatial targeting of incentives and measures to systems and locations where tipping points are most likely to occur
* Evidence that could be used to inform an economic case for investment in peatland restoration, both in terms of avoiding future economic costs and social impacts
* Policy-makers, third sector organisations and practitioners will have early warning indicators that can be easily and effectively used to identify and avoid imminent tipping points
* Evidence to better articulate and quantify the benefits of peatland restoration for delaying and/or avoiding tipping points for multiple ecosystem services as part of the business case for investment in peatland restoration, for UK Peatland Code & Natural Capital Committee
As the most extensive and well-understood peatland habitat, we focus on blanket bogs, which are the UK's single largest carbon stock. The project will produce research findings in three themes:
1. Triggers: the research will consider how changes in climate, land use and management might trigger regime shifts in in blanket peatlands to degraded states. It will consider the range of biophysical and social factors that may influence whether these shifts also trigger tipping points in the provision of ecosystem services over space and time. Where possible, we will identify early warnings that may indicate systems are heading towards tipping points
2. Values: the research will assess the likely ecological, economic, social and cultural impacts of reaching tipping points in the provision of climate regulation, water quality and cultural services (including biodiversity) in blanket peatlands, and provide decision-makers with holistic evidence to guide decisions about whether, where and how to restore these habitats to avoid tipping points for specific ecosystem services
3. Adaptive management: working closely with stakeholders, the research will consider how different forms of peatland restoration might move blanket peatlands from current degraded states to desirable new stable states that can adaptively sustain the provision of ecosystem services from peatlands under future climate change. Working in collaboration with the IUCN UK Peatland Programme, the owners of the UK Peatland Code, the projects will explore opportunities for private investment combined with existing agri-environment scheme to adaptively manage and avoid tipping points in peatland ecosystem services.
Research findings from each of these themes will provide a range of benefits for policy and practice:
* Evidence of ecosystem service tipping points in UK blanket peatlands that can help prioritise policy measures to prevent key tipping points being reached. Recommendations will include practical restoration and other management options that could be incentivised via Rural Development Programmes , Peatland Action (in Scotland) and the UK Peatland Code, and spatial targeting of incentives and measures to systems and locations where tipping points are most likely to occur
* Evidence that could be used to inform an economic case for investment in peatland restoration, both in terms of avoiding future economic costs and social impacts
* Policy-makers, third sector organisations and practitioners will have early warning indicators that can be easily and effectively used to identify and avoid imminent tipping points
* Evidence to better articulate and quantify the benefits of peatland restoration for delaying and/or avoiding tipping points for multiple ecosystem services as part of the business case for investment in peatland restoration, for UK Peatland Code & Natural Capital Committee
Planned Impact
The impact goals of this research are to:
* Provide evidence of ecosystem service tipping points in UK blanket peatlands that can help prioritise policy measures to prevent key tipping points being reached. Recommendations will include practical restoration and other management options that could be incentivised via Rural Development Programmes, Peatland Action (in Scotland) and the UK Peatland Code, and spatial targeting of incentives and measures to systems and locations where tipping points are most likely to occur
* Provide evidence that could be used to inform an economic case for investment in peatland restoration, both in terms of avoiding future economic costs and social impacts
* Provide policy-makers, third sector organisations and practitioners with early warning indicators that can be easily and effectively used to identify and avoid imminent tipping points
* Provide evidence to better articulate and quantify the benefits of peatland restoration for delaying and/or avoiding tipping points for multiple ecosystem services as part of the business case for investment in peatland restoration, for UK Peatland Code & Natural Capital Committee
We will work closely with local stakeholders at each site to adapt the research as far as possible to their needs and deliver impacts that will benefit them. We will also engage with wider national stakeholders to derive impacts; based on a recent stakeholder analysis conducted for Defra by the PI, stakeholders can be broadly grouped as:
* Policy stakeholders: including Defra, DECC, the Devolved Administrations, agencies such as Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage, Climate Change Adaptation Sub-Committee, Natural Capital Committee and Forestry Commission. The team has a strong working relationship with Defra's soils team and each of the relevant policy leads in the DAs.
* Land owning and management community: including farmers, sporting estates and other private landowners and their representative bodies. The team works closely with National Farmers Union, the Moorland Association (England), Scotland's Moorland Forum and other groups.
* Third sector: including landowning NGOs such as RSPB, PlantLife and National Trust, and other NGOs that work and campaign on issues linked to peatlands e.g. Woodland Trust and John Muir Trust. The team already has close working relationships with all major environmental NGOs working in peatlands in the UK via the IUCN UK Peatland Programme, and we have good relationships with others such as Country Land and Business Association
* Professional bodies such as British Ecological Society, Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors and Institute for Environmental Management and Assessment (our team are members of some of these bodies)
* Tourism and recreation interests, ranging from SMEs and their representative organisations (e.g. the Confederation of Small Businesses) and Local Access Groups to a wide range of organisations, associations and clubs, such as the British Mountaineering Council and the Ramblers Association.
* Water industry: the team have strong links via previous projects and consultancy work for all the UK water companies that source water from peatland catchments including South West Water, Yorkshire Water, United Utilities, Severn Trent, Nortumbria Water and Scottish Water. Interests focus primarily on tipping points relating to water quality
* Research organisations with interests in peatlands, including Higher Education Institutes, RCUK funded Centres and other Government funded research institutes such as Scotland's Main Research Providers.
* Publics with interests in conservation and climate change, and who pursue recreation and tourism in peatlands or engage with peatlands from time-to-time via other stakeholder interests above
* Provide evidence of ecosystem service tipping points in UK blanket peatlands that can help prioritise policy measures to prevent key tipping points being reached. Recommendations will include practical restoration and other management options that could be incentivised via Rural Development Programmes, Peatland Action (in Scotland) and the UK Peatland Code, and spatial targeting of incentives and measures to systems and locations where tipping points are most likely to occur
* Provide evidence that could be used to inform an economic case for investment in peatland restoration, both in terms of avoiding future economic costs and social impacts
* Provide policy-makers, third sector organisations and practitioners with early warning indicators that can be easily and effectively used to identify and avoid imminent tipping points
* Provide evidence to better articulate and quantify the benefits of peatland restoration for delaying and/or avoiding tipping points for multiple ecosystem services as part of the business case for investment in peatland restoration, for UK Peatland Code & Natural Capital Committee
We will work closely with local stakeholders at each site to adapt the research as far as possible to their needs and deliver impacts that will benefit them. We will also engage with wider national stakeholders to derive impacts; based on a recent stakeholder analysis conducted for Defra by the PI, stakeholders can be broadly grouped as:
* Policy stakeholders: including Defra, DECC, the Devolved Administrations, agencies such as Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage, Climate Change Adaptation Sub-Committee, Natural Capital Committee and Forestry Commission. The team has a strong working relationship with Defra's soils team and each of the relevant policy leads in the DAs.
* Land owning and management community: including farmers, sporting estates and other private landowners and their representative bodies. The team works closely with National Farmers Union, the Moorland Association (England), Scotland's Moorland Forum and other groups.
* Third sector: including landowning NGOs such as RSPB, PlantLife and National Trust, and other NGOs that work and campaign on issues linked to peatlands e.g. Woodland Trust and John Muir Trust. The team already has close working relationships with all major environmental NGOs working in peatlands in the UK via the IUCN UK Peatland Programme, and we have good relationships with others such as Country Land and Business Association
* Professional bodies such as British Ecological Society, Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors and Institute for Environmental Management and Assessment (our team are members of some of these bodies)
* Tourism and recreation interests, ranging from SMEs and their representative organisations (e.g. the Confederation of Small Businesses) and Local Access Groups to a wide range of organisations, associations and clubs, such as the British Mountaineering Council and the Ramblers Association.
* Water industry: the team have strong links via previous projects and consultancy work for all the UK water companies that source water from peatland catchments including South West Water, Yorkshire Water, United Utilities, Severn Trent, Nortumbria Water and Scottish Water. Interests focus primarily on tipping points relating to water quality
* Research organisations with interests in peatlands, including Higher Education Institutes, RCUK funded Centres and other Government funded research institutes such as Scotland's Main Research Providers.
* Publics with interests in conservation and climate change, and who pursue recreation and tourism in peatlands or engage with peatlands from time-to-time via other stakeholder interests above
Organisations
Publications
Baird A
(2019)
Validity of managing peatlands with fire
in Nature Geoscience
Evans C
(2019)
Comment on: "Peatland carbon stocks and burn history: Blanket bog peat core evidence highlights charcoal impacts on peat physical properties and long-term carbon storage," by A. Heinemeyer, Q. Asena, W. L. Burn and A. L. Jones ( Geo: Geography and Environment 2018; e00063)
in Geo: Geography and Environment
Faccioli M
(2020)
Environmental attitudes and place identity as determinants of preferences for ecosystem services
in Ecological Economics
Faccioli M
(2022)
More in Good Condition or Less in Bad Condition? Valence-Based Framing Effects in Environmental Valuation
in Land Economics
Glenk K
(2018)
The economics of peatland restoration
in Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy
Glenk K
(2019)
Revisiting cost vector effects in discrete choice experiments
in Resource and Energy Economics
Glenk K
(2021)
The opportunity cost of delaying climate action: Peatland restoration and resilience to climate change
in Global Environmental Change
Kenter J
(2018)
IPBES: Don't throw out the baby whilst keeping the bathwater; Put people's values central, not nature's contributions
in Ecosystem Services
Marrs R
(2018)
Experimental evidence for sustained carbon sequestration in fire-managed, peat moorlands
in Nature Geoscience
| Description | Current rates of global land degradation are estimated to be 10-12 million hectares per year and this is being exacerbated by the effects of climate change, leading to food insecurity for billions of people in some of the poorest countries of the world. Newcastle research provided the international policy community with the most comprehensive analysis of links between land degradation and climate change at the time, driving international policy decisions. Subsequent research considered these links in global peatlands, which contain twice as much carbon as all the world's forests. Damage to peatlands is causing significant greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 10% of emissions from global land use and 5% of the total global carbon budget. In the UK, peatlands are the country's largest carbon store, containing more carbon than the forests of France and Germany combined. However, over 80% of the country's peatlands are degraded and therefore a substantial source of Greenhouse Gas emissions from the land use sector (second only to agriculture). This presents a major challenge for reaching net zero targets under the Paris Agreement, given that the cost of restoring these peatlands is far in excess of the available public funding, both in the UK and in countries with peatlands around the world. Reed led the Valuing Nature Programme's Peatland Tipping Points project between 2017 and 2019 with project partner IUCN UK Peatland Programme who own and manage the Peatland Code (Prof Reed is their Research Lead), informing the ongoing development of the Code and its wider adoption in the UK and internationally. This led to research commissioned by Natural England, led by Reed with Hansda, Garrod, Proctor, Collins and PhD student Heidi Saxby, on social barriers to the adoption of peatland restoration and sustainable management practices to inform the development of the England Peat Strategy. In parallel with this, the team worked with the United Nations Environment Programme-led Global Peatlands Initiative to pioneer the development of core common outcomes for peatland research and monitoring, to standardise data for future research synthesis and mapping and with the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to provide the most comprehensive analysis to date of links between land degradation and climate change. Building on this, in collaboration with the UNCCD and the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), Prof Reed helped to co-ordinate research on upscaling restoration and sustainable land management, leading to an official Global Land Outlook working paper and journal article that helped shape the UNCCD's first Global Land Outlook. |
| Exploitation Route | Damaged peatlands account for 5% of all global Greenhouse Gas emissions, making their restoration a key target for achieving net zero emissions. Newcastle University research contributed to the design and implementation of the UK's first ever ecosystem market for peatland restoration, the Peatland Code, generating >£300 million public and private investment in restoration to meet climate targets. Research then extended to other ecosystems in the UK, Italy and Hugary, leveraging a further £5M private investment in regenerative agriculture and conservation. This work also significantly shaped the work of the United Nations' Global Peatland Initiative to establish baseline evidence of peatland condition as a basis for global action, and was instrumental in securing international resolutions that led to the creation of new peatland policies in 29 countries. |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Environment Government Democracy and Justice |
| URL | https://www.peatlandtippingpoints.com |
| Description | Impact 1: UK peatland policy Research at Newcastle University contributed to the development and implementation of the Peatland Code [R1], the first private Payment for Ecosystem Service scheme of its kind in the UK. The Code supplements public funding with new private investment for restoration, paying landowners to restore land in return for the climate and other benefits of healthy peatlands. Since Prof Reed moved to Newcastle University in 2016, he has helped lead the Peatland Code from its pilot phase to a fully functioning national carbon market: "Prof Reed's research at Newcastle University has been instrumental in the development and operation of the Peatland Code. His paper in Global Environmental Change and subsequent research on the Peatland Code and ecosystem markets, alongside his role as Research Lead for IUCN UK Peatland Programme and on the Executive Board of the Peatland Code, have played an important role in establishing the credibility of the Code, and driving funding and uptake in the policy and investment community." [S1] So far, four privately funded projects to restore peatlands have been validated or are in the process of validation (confirming emission reductions of 101,944 tCO2e over their lifetime), with a further 20 projects initiated, covering 4,232 hectares of damaged peatlands across England, Scotland and Wales [S2]. It has been estimated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) UK Peatland Programme that together, these projects will avoid the loss of at least 570,000 tCO2e of peat stocks to the atmosphere [S1], equivalent to taking 230,000 flights from London to Sydney. Interest from the corporate sector in peatland carbon has grown rapidly since the inception of the Code, with demand from investors seeking to mitigate climate change now far outstripping the supply of projects [S1]. Research on the Peatland Code [R1, R2, R3] has made "a highly significant contribution to the policy landscape in the UK with respect to peatland restoration", according to Defra's Head of Peatland Strategy & Recovery [S5]. The IUCN UK Peatland Programme Leader explained the breadth of the policy influence of Newcastle peatland research [S1]: "During his time at Newcastle, Prof Reed's research significantly informed and shaped peatland policy, enabling civil servants and parliamentarians in each of the four UK countries to prioritise funding for peatland restoration. This included direct input to the structure and content of the UK Peatland Strategy, which has been applauded by Governments, UN agencies and NGOs internationally as a world leading approach to peatland conservation. This strategy in turn has driven the creation of peatland policies and strategies in each of the UK countries, leading to investment in peatland across the country, including £250M committed in Scotland over the next 10 years". The research shaped two major investments in peatland restoration by Defra in England and key elements of the England Peat Strategy, as well as further investment by Welsh Government and the EU LIFE fund. Building on this success, peatland restoration was integrated into Defra's 2020 Nature for Climate Fund (funding nature-based solutions to climate change), as a direct result of findings from Newcastle's Peatland Tipping Points project that were used in the Committee for Climate Change's (CCC) 2020 Land Use Report (Prof Reed is acknowledged as a member of the expert advisory group for the report) [S5]. Defra's Head of Peatland Strategy & Recovery stated [S5]: "Defra successfully secured funding in the tens of millions for peatland restoration as part of the Nature for Climate Fund's historic goal to restore 35,000 hectares of damaged peatland in England. This decision was influenced by the peatland recommendations in the CCC Land Use report, which was heavily reliant on findings from the Valuing Nature Programme's Peatland Tipping Points project led by Prof Reed in collaboration with Julia Martin-Ortega (University of Leeds), Klaus Glenk (SRUC) and colleagues. We ensured Defra's analysis on costs were comparable with the CCC report. Defra consulted Prof Reed and his team and, based on their research, advised Natural England on options to ensure the peatland scheme prioritises projects using the Peatland Code and effectively integrates private and public funding for restoration." This built on the success of Defra's first stand-alone peatland restoration scheme, which was secured as a result of Newcastle research during a period when Defra's budget was being significantly cut. Defra's Head of Soils at the time stated [S4]: "Defra was able to secure more than £10M for peatland restoration in the context of an austerity budget (distributed via grants in 2017), as a direct result of evidence from the research underpinning the Peatland Code that was led by Professor Mark Reed from Newcastle University." The research has also shaped Defra peatland policy, as detailed by Defra's Head of Peatland Strategy & Recovery [S5]: "Prof Reed's research has also informed further policy changes in the form of the England Peat Strategy. Professor Reed's research (notably research commissioned by Natural England) [R3] played a particularly important role in shaping the commitments that have so far been announced from the England Peatland Strategy, which it is hoped will be published in 2021. This includes our approach to stakeholder engagement around the design and purpose of the lowland agricultural peat task force, which prioritises farmer engagement from the outset." Private investment in Peatland Code projects also leveraged public funding as part of a £1M Welsh Peatlands Sustainable Management Scheme, and a £5.6M European Pennine PeatLIFE project in northern England. According to the Welsh scheme co-ordinator, "The Peatland Code has been integral to the success of the 1M Welsh Peatlands Sustainable Management Scheme, funded by Welsh Government, giving us the opportunity to leverage additional funding for peatland restoration" [S3] Finally, this work also informed the development of ecosystem markets in other systems across the UK and Europe via Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs), an open-source platform pioneered by 3Keel and Nestle in collaboration with the Newcastle-led Resilient Dairy Landscapes project [S6, R3, R4]. LENs enables businesses with regional interests to co-invest in regenerative farming and conservation to deliver benefits for their business, local farmers and society. There are now six LENs landscapes channelling private investment into sustainable agriculture and nature conservation in England, Scotland, Italy and Hungary, with investment totalling £5M to date [S6]. The LENs landscapes in Cumbria and SW Scotland work with >80 farmers covering 8% Scottish and 2% UK dairy output, with other LENs landscapes focusing on arable farming and catchment management [S6]. The Head of Value Chain Sustainability for Nestle UK and Ireland explained the importance of the research in developing and rolling out LENs [S6]: "The Resilient Dairy Landscapes project led by Professor Reed was crucial for the development of LENs as an open-source platform, which along with the academic rigour and analysis provided by the research, has enabled uptake of LENs across the UK as well as prominence in English policy (LENs featured prominently in Defra's 25 year plan) and Scottish Policy (LENs is one of the most developed pillars of SEPA [Scottish Environmental Protection Agency] and Scottish Wildlife Trust's £1 billion challenge initiative). Social science from the project has helped us design schemes to drive farmer uptake, and evidence on the multifunctional benefits of interventions has helped drive interest from a wide range of investors." Impact 2: International peatland policy Newcastle University research on peatlands and links between land degradation and climate change, significantly shaped UNCCD decisions, the work of the United Nations' Global Peatland Initiative and was instrumental in securing international resolutions that led to the creation of new peatland policies in 29 countries. Prof Reed was commissioned by the UNCCD to publish a report and book [R5] which was quoted in official UNCCD documents (ICCD/CST(S-4/3) and ICCD/COP(12)/CST/2) feeding into UNCCD COP12. According to the UNCCD's Lead Scientist [S9]: "The Newcastle team, led by Prof Reed, has worked with the UNCCD to provide the most comprehensive analysis at the time of links between land degradation and climate change The research led to the recommendations made by the SPI [Science Policy Interface] and the CST [Committee on Science and Technology], which were subsequently enshrined in Decisions made by the COP." These decisions included: 1) recognition for the first time of the importance of links between climate change and land degradation (Paragraph 2 of Decision 18/COP.12); and 2) a decision to ask the UNCCD's Science Policy Interface to further explore these links [S10]. This decision led the CST to propose a special report on climate change and land to IPCC (published in 2019). This report helped shape negotiations in COP14 (2019) that led to a target for countries who are party to the convention to achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030. Newcastle peatland research is being used by the Global Peatlands Initiative (GPI), led by UN Environment Programme with partners including the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to standardise restoration monitoring of the most important climatic, hydrological and biodiversity "core outcomes" from peatlands. This is important because currently different variables are monitored in different ways, making it difficult to base policy or practice on evidence synthesis or integrate data to create global baselines or maps. The GPI Coordinator explained the significance of the work [S7]: "one of the core tasks of the GPI is to create baseline evidence of peatland condition as a basis for global action. The approach we have been able to pioneer with Newcastle University has been central to this work, identifying and reaching consensus on core outcomes for tropical peatland research and monitoring. CIFOR subsequently ran a series of workshops building on this approach with FAO, the Government of Indonesia, and UNEP with support from Norway and USA. We will also be integrating the approach in the next edition of the IPCC wetlands supplement, which is used by Governments around the world to guide emissions reporting to the UNFCCC." Newcastle research also played a major role in securing international resolutions on peatlands, garnering international consensus on the importance of restoring and sustainably managing peatlands. The implementation of these resolutions has been monitored by staff seconded from Newcastle University to the IUCN UK Peatland Programme (Young and Ojo) in collaboration with the Global Peatlands Initiative, leading to evidence of significant changes in peatland policy around the world [S8]. According to the GPI Coordinator [S7]: "Prof Reed's research on peatland policy and the Peatland Code with IUCN UK Peatland Programme was pivotal in securing IUCN Resolution 43 "Securing a future for global peatlands" in September 2016. The research was important because it showed how Governments could share the financial burden of restoration with the private sector. The resolution specifically references the work of the IUCN UK Peatland Programme, which Newcastle research informed. This resolution in turn paved the way for Ramsar Resolution XIII.13 on restoring degraded peatlands and the UN Environment Assembly's resolution 4/16 "Conservation and sustainable management of peatlands". The GPI Coordinator [S7] also confirmed the importance of these resolutions in driving the creation of new peatland policies worldwide: "We worked together with the Newcastle team to conduct joint resolution reporting between IUCN, Ramsar and UNEA for the first time [S8], and this showed that since the original IUCN resolution, new strategies and policies were introduced to protect peatlands in 29 countries, which together represent the majority of global peatland emissions". . |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Societal Economic Policy & public services |
| Description | Facilitating the inclusion of paludiculture and stacking of payments for ecosystem services in peatlands |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| Description | Input to the British Standards Institute (BSI) Nature Investment Standards |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| URL | https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/about-bsi/uk-national-standards-body/sustainability-and-climate-actio... |
| Description | National and international engagement on high-integrity nature markets |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| Description | Shaping Defra's Nature Market Framework |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| URL | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nature-markets |
| Description | Shaping Scottish Government's Natural Capital Investment Framework |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| Impact | Reed was appointed to the advisory board for Scottish Government's Natural Capital Investment Framework, writing substantial sections of the Framework's Discovery Phase Report, in which he helped identify critical risks to delivery, which helped shape the scope and content of the Framework, in particular in relation to stacking of payments for ecosystem services, biodiversity markets and community benefits. Reed was subsequently funded by Scottish Government to work with the Peatland Code and Woodland Carbon Code to develop high-integrity bundling and stacking of payments for biodiversity in the UK's two largest carbon markets. This will be the first time that this functionality has existed in the UK carbon markets, and will be reflected in new functionality in the UK Land Carbon Registry. He is also collaborating with Scottish Government and the two Codes to develop verifiable options for community benefit, to comply with forthcoming requirements in the Natural Capital Investment Framework. This will lead to the integration of community benefits for the first time in the UK's two largest carbon markets, and will generate significant benefits for rural communities across Scotland (where this will be required) and the rest of the UK (where project developers choose to include community benefit). The Framework builds on work led by Reed on the design of blended finance mechanisms that could responsibly scale the operation of the Peatland Code across Scotland. Although developed and trialled for peatlands, if successful, the goal is to apply these mechanisms across land uses, habitats and ecosystem services in each of the UK nations. This research also provided evidence which policy officials have confirmed informed Scottish Government's decision to include a Land Emissions Carbon Tax in the 2024 Budget. |
| Title | Simulated peat heights and water-table depths for UK blanket bog |
| Description | These data are the simulated peat heights and water-table depths (both in cm) from a DigiBog run. The virtual peatland was configured as a 2-D transect of 100 x 2m x 2m columns. The data were generated for each year of a 5,100-year run. After 4,900 years, six ditches were added and the model allowed to run for a further 100 years. After this time, the ditches were 'restored' and the simulation continued until a total runtime of 5,100 years had elapsed. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://catalogue.ceh.ac.uk/id/1d16b303-ca1d-43b4-93b1-c8172adc9792 |
| Title | Supplementary Information files for Deliberating our frames: How members of multi-stakeholder initiatives use shared frames to tackle within-frame conflicts over sustainability issues |
| Description | Supplementary Information files for Deliberating our frames: How members of multi-stakeholder initiatives use shared frames to tackle within-frame conflicts over sustainability issuesMulti-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) have been praised as vehicles for tackling complex sustainability issues, but their success relies on the reconciliation of stakeholders' divergent perspectives. We yet lack a thorough understanding of the micro-level mechanisms by which stakeholders can deal with these differences. To develop such understanding, we examine what frames - i.e., mental schemata for making sense of the world - members of MSIs use during their discussions on sustainability questions and how these frames are deliberated through social interactions. Whilst prior framing research has focussed on between-frame conflicts, we offer a different perspective by examining how and under what conditions actors use shared frames to tackle 'within-frame conflicts' on views that stand in the way of joint decisions. Observations of a deliberative environmental valuation workshop and interviews in an MSI on the protection of peatlands - ecosystems that contribute to carbon retention on a global scale - demonstrated how the application and deliberation of shared frames during micro-level interactions resulted in increased salience, elaboration, and adjustment of shared frames. We interpret our findings to identify characteristics of deliberation mechanisms in the case of within-frame conflicts where shared frames dominate the discussions, and to delineate conditions for such dominance. Our findings contribute to an understanding of collaborations in MSIs and other organisational settings by demonstrating the utility of shared frames for dealing with conflicting views and suggesting how shared frames can be activated, fostered and strengthened. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Supplementary_Information_files_for_Deliberating_our... |
| Title | The economics of peatland restoration |
| Description | Restoration offers opportunities for securing and enhancing critical ecosystem services provided by peatlands, such as carbon storage, water retention and water quality, and support for biodiversity and wildlife. A comprehensive valuation encompassing the relevant public benefits of restoration and how these compare with it is lacking to date, leaving policy makers with little guidance with respect to the economic efficiency of restoring this climate-critical ecosystem. Using Scotland as a case study, this paper quantifies the non-market benefits of changes in peatland ecological condition associated with changes in ecosystem service provision and depending on the location of restoration efforts. Benefits on a per hectare basis are compared to varying capital and recurrent cost in a net present value space, providing a benchmark to be used in decision making on investments into peatland restoration. The findings suggest that peatland restoration is likely to be welfare enhancing. Benefits also exceed cost in appraisals of previous and future public investments into peatland restoration. The results thus strengthen the economic rationale for climate change mitigation through improved peatland management. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/The_economics_of_peatland_restoration/5902189 |
| Title | The economics of peatland restoration |
| Description | Restoration offers opportunities for securing and enhancing critical ecosystem services provided by peatlands, such as carbon storage, water retention and water quality, and support for biodiversity and wildlife. A comprehensive valuation encompassing the relevant public benefits of restoration and how these compare with it is lacking to date, leaving policy makers with little guidance with respect to the economic efficiency of restoring this climate-critical ecosystem. Using Scotland as a case study, this paper quantifies the non-market benefits of changes in peatland ecological condition associated with changes in ecosystem service provision and depending on the location of restoration efforts. Benefits on a per hectare basis are compared to varying capital and recurrent cost in a net present value space, providing a benchmark to be used in decision making on investments into peatland restoration. The findings suggest that peatland restoration is likely to be welfare enhancing. Benefits also exceed cost in appraisals of previous and future public investments into peatland restoration. The results thus strengthen the economic rationale for climate change mitigation through improved peatland management. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/The_economics_of_peatland_restoration/5902189/1 |
| Description | Facilitating an international coalition to influence SBTi's policy on peatland emissions and carbon markets |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | We created an international coalition of organisations impacted by SBTi's stance on peatlands, to create a pre-meeting briefing with an evidence-based argument for the inclusion of peatland emissions and peatland carbon markets in their initiative. Signatories included UNEP's Global Peatlands Initiative (GPI), Wetlands International, a range of Third Sector organisations, businesses and the wider peatland research community (via GPI's Research Working Group) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://docs.google.com/document/d/123cYApCn1Zh_zmCGUDcVWwy5VcEwyBXw6ghTDHFLjtQ/edit?usp=sharing |