Wetlands that work: Unique Mayo paludiculture fair
THE Rivers Trust and South Kerry Development Partnership CLG will host a PaludiFair at Killasser Community Centre, Swinford (F12 HH97), on Thursday, October 8, showcasing paludiculture - sustainable agriculture and forestry on rewetted peatlands - as a new source of income for farmers and industry while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the free event will bring together farmers, businesses, researchers, and policymakers from Ireland and across Europe to demonstrate how wet bogs and grasslands can support crops, biomass and other products alongside climate and biodiversity goals.
A new Palus Demos study, recently published in the academic journal Land and led by University College Dublin, finds growing evidence that paludiculture can cut greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands while providing farm income.
The PaludiFair is part of the Interreg NWE BUFFER+ project, which encourages landscape-based solutions for climate adaptation by restoring the natural buffering abilities of peatlands. The project involves 21 partners and seven associated organisations from Germany, Ireland, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, representing a wide range of peatland types across north-west Europe.
The event is for farmers, industry representatives, academics, policymakers, educators, and the public.
The Rivers Trust is a leading environmental charity dedicated to restoring and protecting rivers across the UK and Ireland through evidence-based conservation and community-led action. Drawing on extensive scientific expertise, catchment-scale data and a network of local member trusts, The Rivers Trust works to create wild, healthy, natural rivers that are valued by everyone.
Within the INTERREG BUFFER+ project, this includes trialling paludiculture, a sustainable land management approach for highly degraded peatlands, helping peat soils store more water and carbon while reducing erosion and nutrient runoff that can pollute rivers and downstream habitats.
Activities undertaken by The Rivers Trust as part of BUFFER+ are co-financed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and supported by the Inishowen Rivers Trust and the River Moy Trust.
South Kerry Development Partnership CLG (SKDP) works to promote and assist the development of sustainable, vibrant communities in south Kerry, and to improve the quality of life of people living there through the provision of social and economic opportunities.
Palus Demos is a Horizon Europe-funded consortium of 26 partners working to advance paludiculture research, demonstration sites, and market development across Europe. The project supports farmers and industry to develop profitable wetland-based value chains while contributing to EU climate and biodiversity goals.