Government to extend ban on moorland burning - closing loopholes in existing rules
Great news for nature, carbon, & people who’ll be spared from acrid smoke & flooding
Bad news for dukes & billionaires who own grouse moors 🎻
Here's my quote running on PA newswire: 1/
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-proposals-to-ban-heather-burning-on-peatland-to-protect-air-water-and-wildlife
Great news for nature, carbon, & people who’ll be spared from acrid smoke & flooding
Bad news for dukes & billionaires who own grouse moors 🎻
Here's my quote running on PA newswire: 1/
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-proposals-to-ban-heather-burning-on-peatland-to-protect-air-water-and-wildlife
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Comments
Should mean that burning on peat will be at least controlled as in E&W.
There are fires at all points of the compass across the moors of eastern Scotland atm and the weather forecast suggests this will continue for another month 😳
Crispy eggs,lizard, frog anyone?
All kinds of root problems with Western notions of Nature as "other".
But still leaves 50% unprotected?
Surely in light of the huge carbon store, we should be protecting ALL peatlands now?!
And this is the burning ban I called for in The Lie of the Land, published Sept 2024:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/12/michael-gove-accused-of-letting-wealthy-grouse-moor-owners-off-the-hook
With Alasdair Cameron @friends-earth.bsky.social I helped expose this, with footage that was shown on BBC Countryfile: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate/friends-earth-sparks-moorland-burning-investigation
Except, as a result of lobbying by the Moorland Association and others, the 'ban' contained more holes than Swiss cheese:
That's a good start and should expand the area protected a lot - BUT, we still don't have any accurate maps of peat 30cm+ deep: Govt need to publish one!
Yes, can imagine, “must have been a tourist who dropped his cigarette’ kindof thing 🙄