Latvia is one of the richest countries in Europe in terms of peatlands, which occupy about 10% of the country's territory, public media reports.
In some peatlands, intensive extraction took place during the Soviet years, and now these areas are abandoned.
Last year, as part of the project "Support for the Revival of Historical Peatlands," the identification of such areas began, and landowners will have the opportunity to receive funding for the improvement of degraded territories. In February, training workshops on the management of historical peatlands will start in all regions.
According to the project leader in the Vidzeme Planning Region, Maija Rieksta, one of the first steps was to establish the number of such areas in Latvia.
"We and the experts were quite surprised that the areas requiring restoration work make up just over 20%. Approximately 70% of the surveyed areas are in the process of natural recovery, which can proceed without human intervention," says Rieksta.
The condition of these bogs, where peat was once extracted, is important from several perspectives, but most importantly, according to project expert Rolands Auzinsh, is to stop or reduce CO2 emissions. "If there are open peat fields, greenhouse gas emissions are very high, but when the bog is restored - the bog ecosystem, with all its plants, trees, and vegetation - there are no such emissions, and carbon accumulates in the peat," says Auzinsh.
