The need for balance between maintaining the rich biodiversity of traditional peatlands and supporting a "just transition" for families solely dependent on turf as a source of fuel was discussed at today's Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss.
Turf cutters had been invited to take part in the proceedings but refused.
Chair of the Assembly Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin said it is unfortunate that they were not in the room.
Peatlands cover only about 3% of the world’s land surface, yet they can store double the amount of carbon of all the forests of the world, which collectively account for 30% of global land surface.
Ireland is a hotspot for peatlands, with just over 20% the country covered in peatland or peat soils.
Almost 70 % of Ireland’s peatland is in private ownership.
The peat itself is made up of un-decomposed organic matter formed in waterlogged conditions with sphagnum moss.
It provides a range of ecosystem services, including improved water quality, water storage and the regulation of water flows.
Dr Catherine Farrell, a restoration biologist who addressed the Citizens' Assembly, said the web of life is nowhere more noticeable than on peatlands.
She outlined their value as a stock of carbon, a carbon sink, a place where sediment is retained and as a palaeoecological record of our ecological past.
She outlined how peatlands in Ireland store three times as much carbon as average international wetland soils and 10 times as much carbon as tropical soils.
She also highlighted the vulnerability of peatland habitats and species, including the hen harrier and curlew birds.
Despite this however, only small fragments of Ireland’s peatlands remain intact, while those that are intact are degraded.
Dr Farrell told the assembly that it is now time to rethink our policy in relation to peatlands.
If they can be renewed and restored with ambition and innovation, then many co-benefits would be reaped for society and for nature, she said.
She warned however, that "there is no point in having a policy in relation to bogs and peatlands if you don’t regulate and you don’t enforce it".
Chief Executive of the Irish Peatland’s Conservation Council Nuala Madigan also addressed the Citizens’ Assembly.
She explained that:
15% of original flora in Ireland are peatland plants.
59 species of Irish birds occur on peatlands, most as breeding species.
26% of Ireland’s mammals are dependent on peatlands in some phase of their life cycle.
65% of butterfly species found in Ireland are found on peatlands.
75% of peatland habitats have been mined or drained.
Less than 1% remain active.
26.6% of Ireland’s bog-forming sphagnum mosses are on the Conservation Red List.
44% of peatland birds are on the Conservation Red List.
98% decline in Curlew bird numbers since 1980.
19.6% of peatland plants are on the Conservation Red List.
Despite all that, Ms Madigan told the assembly that it is not too late to halt the loss of biodiversity on Irish peatlands.
She said the protection of "designated sites" should be central to conservation action, and that the designation of Ireland’s peatland National Heritage Areas must be completed.
She called for full inventories of peatland biodiversity to be carried out, adding that landowners must be encouraged to engage in the active protection of peatland biodiversity through an adequately funded national scheme.
Seamus Boland, Chief Executive of Irish Rural Link, said that at least 100,000 homes in the lower income bracket rely on turf for domestic fuel.
"The problem in relation peatlands is not the turf," Mr Boland said.
"The problem is domestic heating. Solve that for houses in the lower income bracket and you solve the turf."
Mr Boland argued that funding the energy retrofitting of housing is the solution.
