RSPB asks for evidence of burning on peatlands from the public
The RSPB is asking members of the public to report incidents of moorland burning on peatlands using their burning reporting app or through the RSPB’s website – including areas around Doncaster.
The data collected will be passed on to the relevant authorities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to help them tackle illegal and unsustainable burning.
There have been a number of recent fires on peatland areas and moors across Doncaster.
Peatlands account for 12% of the UK’s land area and contain more carbon than the forests of the UK, France, and Germany combined – an estimated 3.2 billion tonnes.
80% of our peatlands are in degraded condition, emitting rather than sequestering carbon as needed to help combat climate change, due to historic damaging land management practices, including repeated burning.
UK uplands are home to some of our most at-risk wildlife, including Hen Harriers, Ring Ouzel, Whinchat and Large Heath butterfly and globally important upland habitats, such as blanket bogs, which have developed over millennia and store large amounts of carbon.
Every year from October until April across the UK, upland vegetation is systematically burned in many places, and our peatlands are often damaged as a result.
‘Rotational burning’ is a practice used by shooting estates, deer managers and farmers to encourage the growth of young heather shoots and grass to provide food and grazing for red grouse, wild deer and livestock.
However, scientific reviews show that regular burning has numerous harmful environmental impacts and has caused our peatlands to become a source of emissions.
Tom Aspinall for RSPB England said, “Defra extending the protection from burning to all peat over 30cms this year has been a great step forward for nature, especially now it’s applied across all ‘Less Favoured Areas’ rather than just protected sites. This approach should better protect thousands of years’ worth of accumulated carbon.
“In support of keeping England on the right track, the RSPB burning app has been a great ‘citizen approach’ to assessing how well Land Managers are following these vital new rules - and it's already been making a difference.
"We encourage as many people as possible to send in reports via the RSPB app, providing important evidence to pass forward to Defra, and helping to make sure action is taken to keep the English Uplands in better health.”
To report a burn anonymously, members of the public can visit the RSPB Burning website or download the My Survey123 app (available on iOS and Android).
By downloading the app and reporting evidence of burning, you can play a vital role in helping to show governments how much burning continues across our uplands and providing them with the evidence they need to act against those who are not following regulations and may be damaging peatlands and also risking wildfires.
Ending burning on peatlands will be a key step in ensuring we can turn around the fate of this globally important habitat in the UK.
You can report burning via the RSPB website which can be found HERE