Moors for the Future

The Moors for the Future (opens new window) partnership was founded in 2003 with the original purpose of developing techniques to restore areas of bare peat.

Through their pioneering work, they have increased understanding of climate change and delivered ecosystem benefits far beyond the issues they originally set out to tackle.

By revegetating bare peat that was degraded following the industrial revolution, the partnership has begun to restore the upland areas in the South Pennines. Not only has this returned biodiversity, colour and natural beauty to the area, but it has allowed the ecosystems to start providing their important services again.

Bare peat, which is approximately 50% carbon, retains very little water, instead allowing it to rapidly run off downstream, collecting lots of sediment as it does so. This poses a serious flood risk to settlements beneath the moors, as storms can trigger huge amounts of water to surge down them, the speed of which is undiminished by the smooth surface of the bare peat. The exposed sediment can get into water supplies and can cost water companies thousands of pounds (opens new window) to remove, all while emitting carbon into the atmosphere.

However, after Moors for the Future restored areas of the moors, as the vegetation, particularly sphagnum moss, regrew, the moors began to regain their ability to conduct their vital natural processes. The healthier bogs can now retain more water, reducing flood risk to the settlements below; carbon from the peat that was previously lost to the atmosphere is now sequestered into plant tissue; and the covering of and root structures stabilising the bare peat means that the water coming down from the moors is cleaner, with less sediment and fewer processes required to make it drinkable.

All of these important benefits are not only correlated to, but directly caused by the recovery of nature at the top of the moors.