Protection of the environment

Over the past three centuries, peatlands haven‘t been viewed as valuable areas of nature or living space, but as areas of wasteland which it was important to make useable as places of habitat and settlement for people. To achieve this, the draining and the development of the agricultural use of fenlands took centre stage. This remains evident today: for many decades, 60% of all high fens and 95% of all low fens have been subject to more or less intensive agricultural use and to a lesser extent forestry-related use.

Peat extraction permissions were provided into the 1960s with the politically motivated condition of ploughing the areas deeply during peat extraction to in this way, gain new, high-quality arable farming land.

Since the beginning of the 1970s, a new approach emerged at the economic and political level and amongst the general population. As a rule, natural or semi-natural fenland areas are no longer exploited. Areas previously used for agricultural purposes are now used for the extraction of peat instead. In terms of the protection of the environment, this form of peat extraction also represents an opportunity:

Through the re-water logging subsequent to peat extraction, ecologically valuable areas of wetland occur with the possibility of developing new fenlands. These areas then achieve the status of an environmentally protected area.

The peatland protection programme practiced for more than 25 years in Lower Saxony is an impressive example of this.

Source: Federal Association for the Peat and Humus Economyin the German Horticultural Industrial Association (IVG) e.V.