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Local Authorities and Sustainable Peatland Management: Current Opportunities and Future Possibilities for Local Approaches
Climate change
Many local authorities across Wales responded to Welsh Government’s declaration of a climate emergency, in 2019, by making similar declarations. Some local authorities had already published or begun to develop climate change strategies by this point. Local authorities are not subject to specific statutory duties to promote, report or develop a strategy on climate change, but climate change is undoubtedly a cross cutting consideration for local authorities, especially in the context of pursuing the statutory wellbeing goals. There are also strong policy mandates from Welsh Government in this regard. Following Welsh Government’s announcement of the public sector Net Zero goal for 2030, local authorities were called upon to publish a decarbonisation strategy by May 2021. This has undoubtedly galvanised activity within local authorities in Wales with respect to decarbonisation. There are two key pieces of guidance: - the Welsh Public Sector Net Zero Carbon Reporting Guide (May 2021) (the reporting guide) - the Welsh Government Net zero carbon status by 2030: A route map for decarbonisation across the Welsh public sector (2021) - a strategic framework for local authorities to measure their performance in moving towards Net Zero carbon status (the Route Map). The reporting guide is clear that LULUCF emissions reporting relates to GHG emissions or sequestration in respect of land on the public authority’s estate only. However, this encourages other LULUCF activities such as tree planting that can conflict with objectives for peat restoration. Both need to be carefully considered as a means of building ecological resilience. Therefore, arguably, Welsh Government need to provide guidance on this, as exists for England. Another concern with the reporting guide is that LULUCF reporting does not include land not used for delivering public services, such as tenant farms. This is a particular problem when considering the contribution of SPM on such farms. The current focus on decarbonisation specifically on the local authority estate may deter from the impact on SPM of work by local authorities to developing wider climate change strategies for the local area. For example, It was noted in the UKCCC deep dive, that local scale delivery is crucial to carbon storage through forestry and land use; and that local authorities could have a role in raising awareness about peat and enabling peat restoration. Despite the narrow focus outlined above, a review commissioned by the Welsh Local Government Association found evidence that officers in some local authorities in Wales remain keen to develop more ambitious, area-wide, approaches to net zero. This broader approach needs to be encouraged to support SPM.
Culture, heritage and tourism
Peatlands, especially, upland peatlands, may provide a ‘heritage landscape’ or ‘backdrop’ for rural and urban areas. Landscape, including its historical and cultural values, is a consideration in land use planning decisions. However, recognising SPM as a means of protecting landscapes of heritage means this may also be supported by the culture and heritage policies of local authorities. These policies also feed into destination management strategies for tourism in the local area. This can be particularly important in the context of
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