A SINGLE wildfire in internationally important peatlands in the north of Scotlandcould have released an amount of carbon equivalent to six days’ worth of average Scottish climate-related greenhouse gas emissions, it has been claimed.
An analysis for environment group WWF by the consultancy Ricardo, published today, estimated the impact of a wildfire on the scale of the one in May was equal to six days of normal nationwide pollution.
The report’s low-range estimate of carbon loss was 174,000 tonnes from the peatland into the atmosphere during the fire - equivalent to 6.2 days of daily average greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland.
The fire burned across over 5000 hectares for almost six days last May.
Ricardo’s desk-based study estimated the impacts, using conservative scenarios, but a more in-depth fieldwork study has been launched by scientists at the University of the Highlands and Islands.
As climate change is increasing the frequency of these types of blazes, WWF Scotland is calling for urgent action to protect and restore these vital carbon stores, including increased, multi-year funding from the Scottish Government, of at least £20m per year.
Gina Hanrahan, WWF Scotland’s head of policy, said we were facing twin climate and nature crises and are already feeling the impacts of climate change.
She said: “This analysis puts into stark figures the importance of our peatlands and the huge cost to climate and nature when something goes wrong.
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“Reports suggest that the vegetation is recovering well, at least in some areas, and we’ve had a lucky escape – this fire could have been even more damaging for our atmosphere.
“How we manage and care for our peatlands influences their effect on climate change, as well as the fire risk and how the habitat responds, so protecting and restoring peatlands needs to be a vital part of our response to both the climate and nature crises.“That’s why we need to see increased, long-term funding for peatland restoration in the next Scottish Government budget.” Emma Goodyer, manager of the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN UK Peatland Programme, said: “We need to increase the scale of funding available for peatland restoration if we are to urgently respond to the climate crisis and to increase the resilience of our peatlands.”
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service area manager and chair of the Scottish Wildfire Forum, Bruce Farquharson, added: “Many communities are hugely impacted by these incidents, which can cause significant environmental and economic damage.”
The Flow country is being considered for World Heritage Site status for its globally-rare type of blanket peatland, most commonly found in the Russian and American tundra.
The Scottish site is estimated to store 400 million tonnes of carbon.
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