Good practice

Bord na Móna Peatlands Climate Action Scheme (Ireland)

Ireland · Newbridge · See the Ireland profile

Ireland's largest peatland restoration: 33,000 ha across 82 midland bogs, €108M EU-funded. By end 2024: 18,861 ha done (57%). Net 3.3 Mt CO₂eq reduction to 2050; 100 Mt CO₂ protected. GHG monitoring by NPWS; UN-recognised at COP26.

33,000 ha across 82 bogs

Restoration target

EUR 108M

EU funding

18,861 ha (57%)

Area completed (end 2024)

3.3M tCO2eq

Net CO2 reduction to 2050

100M t

CO2 protected

Details

Maturity: Scaling
Promoter: Bord na Móna / National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS)
Period: 2021–2025
Keywords: peatland, rewetting, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, climate finance

Context

Ireland's largest peatland restoration, the Bord na Mona Peatlands Climate Action Scheme, targets 33,000 ha across 82 Midlands bogs with EUR 108M of EU funding.

Results

By the end of 2024, 18,861 ha (57%) were complete; a net reduction of 3.3 Mt CO2eq is expected by 2050 and 100 Mt CO2 protected, with annual monitoring by the NPWS and UN recognition at COP26.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-22
Bord na Móna / National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) — accessed 2026-06-22
Bord na Móna PCAS official site — accessed 2026-06-22
Peatlands Ireland — research overview with figures — accessed 2026-06-22
Irish Times — A new dawn for Irish peatlands (2023) — accessed 2026-06-22
EU LIFE peatland project page — accessed 2026-06-22

Attachments

Source image

Quality score: 53/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Observational / pre–post

Top 27% in this catalogue (335 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Carbon — sequestration / storage, evidenced2/3

Net reduction of 3.3 Mt CO₂eq to 2050 estimated from rewetting 33,000 ha; annual GHG flux monitoring published; early sites still transitioning to net sink (~20 years).

Biodiversity — conservation / improvement, evidenced2/3

Annual NPWS biodiversity monitoring documents crane return and indicator-species recovery; UN-recognised biodiversity co-benefits across 82 restored bogs.

Water & soil — retention, infiltration, erosion control2/3

Rewetting raises groundwater levels, reduces peat oxidation and associated subsidence; hydrological effects tracked via water-level sensors in published monitoring reports.

Fire resilience — risk reduction, evidenced0/3

No fire risk reduction component documented in the scheme.

Governance, certification & transferability2/3

€108M EU RRF-funded with milestone-based verification; NPWS and EPA oversight; published annual reports and methodology paper; UN COP26-recognised; replicable via PEAT+ extension.

Cite this

Evidoria. Bord na Móna Peatlands Climate Action Scheme (Ireland). Persistent ID: b9a4110f-78d6-4cfd-9afe-2917180f0bb6.

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