To Peat or not to peat

German-born Susann Warnecke began working for the Finland-based International Peatland Society (IPS) in 2002 as a communications assistant. In October 2022, she was appointed as the Society’s new Secretary General. Her permanent position can best be described as the ‘smooth running of the society’, including administration, finances, communications, strategic development, and member management. For she wrote the following opinion piece for the June 2024 issue of FCI.

Susann Warnecke.

“Recently, the International Peatland Society (IPS) published the second edition of its book, ‘Peatlands and Climate Change.’

In chapter seven, the use of peat for growing media and energy and their impacts on climate are explained in detail.

Peat is still the most important constituent of substrates for plant cultivation, although alternatives are being used and further investigated.

Our corporate members are making efforts to minimise their impact on the environment, including rewetting and restoring their peat extraction sites or carefully transitioning to other uses, such as agriculture or forestry.

Their policies include certifications such as Veriflora and Responsibly Produced Peat, in addition to national laws and regulations.

Within the EU, the industry is, for instance, part of the MERLIN restoration project, which aims to rehabilitate freshwater ecosystems on a landscape scale.

The industry is indeed having challenges obtaining permissions for new areas, although, in the EU, it is obligatory to use only degraded and previously drained peatlands.

There is no danger to the beautiful wet bogs we all know from Instagram or the television. Only 0.05 per cent of global peatlands are extracted for horticultural use.

We thus encourage you to use alternative materials whenever possible – but a good night’s sleep is also guaranteed when you put safety first and use good, old peat.

If you want to hear more, come with us to the 17th International Peatland Congress in China in August or celebrate World Peatlands Day on 2 June 2024. We are ready to answer your questions.”