New £47 Million Boost for England’s Peatlands: What It Means for Paludiculture
- Douglas Hobbs
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
The UK Government has announced a major new funding package to support the protection and sustainable use of England’s peatlands—bringing fresh momentum to paludiculture and wetter farming.
Announced by Defra at the end of June 2026, the package totals £47 million and includes two key funds directly relevant to the paludiculture community: the Lowland Peat Water Implementation Grant and the Paludiculture and Wetter Farming Fund.
Together, these schemes aim to help restore peatlands, reduce emissions, and create viable land uses on wetter soils.
Why this matters
Peatlands play a critical role in climate regulation and biodiversity. In England, they store more than half of the country’s terrestrial carbon, but decades of drainage for agriculture have left around 80% in a degraded state. Rewetting peat soils is widely recognised as essential to stopping carbon loss and restoring ecosystem function. However, this shift requires new ways of thinking about land management—this is where paludiculture comes in.
Lowland Peat Water Implementation Grant (£36m)
Delivered by the Environment Agency, this fund focuses on raising and managing water tables across lowland peat landscapes. It builds on earlier pilot work and will support catchment-scale projects that install water management infrastructure and deliver long-term plans.
Key details:
Supports delivery of existing water management plans
Focus on collaborative, landscape-scale approaches
Aims to reduce emissions and stabilise peat soils
Round 1 runs from 2026 to 2030, with applications closing 18 September 2026
For the paludiculture sector, this funding is foundational, restoring appropriate water levels is a critical first step in enabling wetter farming systems.
Paludiculture and Wetter Farming Fund (£10m)
Delivered by Natural England, this fund is specifically designed to unlock innovation in paludiculture and wetter farming systems.
It will support projects that:
Develop new markets and supply chains
Test wet farming systems at scale
Overcome technical and commercial barriers
The fund aligns closely with the principles of paludiculture, ensuring peatlands can remain productive while reducing emissions and protecting soils.
Priority themes include:
Wetland crops for manufactured products
Food production at higher water tables
Projects will run until December 2029, with applications closing 21 August 2026.
A step forward for paludiculture in England
This funding marks a significant step in moving from pilot projects to landscape-scale delivery.
Encouragingly, the schemes:
Recognise that productive land use and environmental outcomes can go hand in hand
Support collaboration across farmers, researchers, and supply chains
Aim to scale up what already works in wetter farming systems.
For those working in paludiculture, this is a clear signal that wetter farming is moving into the mainstream of land-use policy.
Opportunities to get involved
Both schemes emphasise partnership and collaboration, and Defra is encouraging organisations to form consortia ahead of applying.
Upcoming webinars will provide more detail on the application process:
Environment Agency webinar: 15 July
Natural England webinar: 7 July
There is also a consortium-building database on this website to connect potential partners.
Looking ahead
The launch of these funds reflects growing recognition that the future of lowland peat lies in working with water, not against it.
By investing in both infrastructure and innovation, the Government is helping to create the conditions for paludiculture to scale, supporting climate goals while opening new economic opportunities for land managers.
For the paludiculture community, this is an important moment: a chance to build on existing knowledge, demonstrate solutions at scale, and shape the future of peatland farming in England.
Read the full announcement here:
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