(c) RSPB England
Today’s blog is written by Nick Hawkes, RSPB UK’s Uplands Communications Manager on banning peatland burning.
The RSPB is calling for a ban on burning peatland whilst asking for citizen’s help identifying burns using the Upland Burn reporting App.
The start of October sees the beginning of the burning season across the UK. From the Cairngorms to the Peak District, moorland burning will be carried out by land managers and farmers to encourage the growth of new heather shoots, providing more cover and food for red grouse.
As part of the RSPB’s campaign to see licencing introduced for Driven Grouse Shooting in England and Scotland, and an end to the intensive land management practices associated with it, we are calling for a ban on burning on peatlands. This will restore upland peatlands for wildlife, carbon and water supply.
Why is burning an issue?
The UK’s peatlands store more carbon than the forests of the UK, France and Germany combined. But for many years these landscapes have been under threat. Historically seen as unproductive spaces, intensive land management, such as over grazing, damning, afforestation and burning was encouraged to squeeze as much value from the land.
But those actions have had huge impacts on how these landscapes function and burning is a significant contributor to that decline.
In England alone, it is estimated that burning leads to the release of 260,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from our peatlands bogs each year – that is the same level of emissions as 140,000 cars and in Scotland where 9 in 10 peatlands are degraded, peatland emissions account for 13% of the total emissions.
And there are other issues, damaged peatlands provide a less suitable habitat for birds such as hen harrier and lapwing, they lead to reduced water quality due to carbon runoff and increase the threats of flooding to communities downstream.
What has been done so far?
The short answer is not enough. In May 2021, the UK government introduced new regulations to limit where and when burning can take place but despite this last year members of the public reported 70 fires on areas that were supposed to be protected using the RSPB’s upland burn reporting app.
In Scotland, there has been some positive news. With the Scottish Government bringing forward licencing for driven grouse shooting, ending burning on peatland and licencing for muirburn in their most recent programme for government.
But the work is far from over, nature is under attack and we need to see urgent action to protect these landscapes and the wildlife and people which call them home.
Where we need help?
Recording evidence of burns to helps us build a better picture of what is happening across our uplands and to call out illegal action if it is taking place.
The data collected will help us make the case for better protection of our globally important blanket bog and support the RSPB’s call for governments across the UK to ban burning on peatland and to licence all moorland and grass burning to protect people, nature and our climate.
How to use the Upland Burn Reporting App
It’s easy to anonymously submit a report of burning using the Upland Burn Reporting App!
Search ‘Survey123’ in your app store (Survey123 is available for Apple or Android devices).
If you're on your smartphone click here to download the RSPB Burning Survey form and click 'Continue without signing' when the Survey123 app first loads.
If you're on a different device to your smartphone please open the Survey123 app on your smartphone and choose 'Continue without signing in'.
Click on the ‘QR code' icon in the top right-hand corner. Use your smartphone's camera to scan the QR code below.
The RSPB Burning Survey form will then download onto your phone. You'll then be ready to start reporting burns. You’ll need to tell us: