The aim of the event was to strengthen existing ties between countries whose joint aims are to create momentum for peatlands restoration, conservation, and sustainable management. With a hope to launch the initiative in 2024, participants at the meeting, including the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection; the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, the Nature and Food Quality; UNEP Global Peatlands Initiative discussed the next steps for the EPI, which will grow and change over time according to the needs and challenges for Europe's peatlands.
The participants also took a visit to a blanket bog restoration project in the Wicklow Mountains National Park. The project is a collaboration between Ireland’s National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Intel Corporation, and saw the re-wetting of 60 hectares of drained bog to increase water storage levels by 50-90 litres. This public-private project collaboration is one of the first of its kind in Ireland for water restoration and the protection of biodiversity.
Commenting, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Pippa Hackett, said: "It's important for us to drive peatland conservation and preservation, as a shared effort with governments across Europe. The meeting in Dublin will serve as an important turning point for the European Peatlands Initiative as we move into the next phase of its creation.”