LANDMARC and Blauwzaam join forces for sustainable peatlands
LANDMARC and Blauwzaam are teaming up to promote sustainable peatlands in the Netherlands.
This collaboration, which arose from a 2022 LANDMARC project visit to one of Blauwzaam's peatland sites in Utrecht province, is very much a natural fit. Blauwzaam’s focus on connecting business, research, and governments to support sustainable entrepreneurship dovetails nicely with LANDMARC’s efforts to map the potential of mitigating climate change by using land differently, in ways that work for businesses, people and the planet. For example, LANDMARC project partners Bioclear Earth B.V. and Stichting JIN are currently researching peatland rewetting in North Brabant and Groningen to help them better understand the net Greenhouse gas fluxes in peat soils. Blauwzaam are doing similar work in the Utrecht/Rotterdam area, creating great potential for collaboration between the two projects.
This collaboration is already underway. On 22 March 2023, LANDMARC took soil samples from some of Blauwzaam's rewetting plots to analyse, focussing on microorganisms in the soil that relate to greenhouse gas production. The results of this soil analysis (which will include information on the soil’s chemical, physical, and biological properties) will be shared with Blauwzaam and affiliated farmers.
In addition to joint soil analyses, LANDMARC and Blauwzaam have also begun tapping into each other’s networks. Being able to interview a wider range of knowledgeable stakeholders allows both parties to better assess the possible co-benefits and risks of scaling up peatland rewetting. So far, LANDMARC has already conducted three interviews with stakeholders from Blauwzaam's network.
Finally, Blauwzaam has also begun providing economic background data that will be very helpful for LANDMARC's simulation modelling.
By working together, LANDMARC and Blauwzaam aim to better understand the climate impacts of peatland rewetting, as well as making its economic and social implications more widely understood. This will hopefully contribute to both the preservation of Dutch peatlands and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Contact:
Rolia Wiggelinkhuijsen, Stichting Blauwzaam
Afnan Suleiman & Eline Keuning, Bioclear Earth B.V.
Eise Spijker & Malte Renz , JIN Climate & Sustainability
