Paludiculture Gains European Spotlight on Euronews

Euronews highlights the Palus Demos project at Ballaghurt Bog, demonstrating paludiculture’s potential to align peatland rewetting with economically viable biomass production.

Paludiculture — the productive use of wet soils — is emerging as a transformative approach to farming across Europe, with promising benefits for both agriculture and water quality. This potential was recently highlighted in The Road to Green, a Euronews TV series hosted by Cyril Fournier, which explores innovative responses to today’s economic and environmental challenges.

The featured site was Ballaghurt Bog in County Offaly, a key trial location for the Palus Demos project. Euronews, which reaches over 400 million viewers monthly, showcased how rewetting peatlands can be both ecologically beneficial and economically viable.

Arthur Devine of Bord na Móna (BnM), a Palus Demos partner, explained:

“If you ask a farmer to rewet the land, it then becomes almost useless for him in terms of high income. What we’re trying to do is showcase that you can crop sphagnum and use it as a replacement for coir (coconut shavings) in horticultural compost.”

Freya Connolly of The Rivers Trust added:

“In a flood event, sphagnum can hold 20 times its own weight in water. When the bogs are healthy, they are also bursting with life.”

The segment underscores paludiculture as a win-win solution — restoring ecosystems while offering new income streams for farmers.

📺 Watch the full eight-minute feature on Euronews https://www.euronews.com/green/2025/10/29/can-europes-farmers-save-the-water-cycle

Or jump straight to the Palus Demos segment which begins around the 6:30 mark. https://youtu.be/WZ3eNe5-Eio?t=386