WISE USE OF MIRES AND PEATLANDS:
A REVIEW
BY DR JOHN FEEHAN
It is nearly 200 years since the first comprehensive survey of
Early in the 19th century there was no doubt what "wise use" consisted of: drainage
and reclamation, so that the bogs could be cultivated, as long as enough was left to provide people with fuel - but nobody had any doubts on that score, because surely there was enough to last forever.
But the meaning of "wise use" changed profoundly - and several times - in the century and a half that followed the publication of the reports of the Commissioners of Bogs. It did so because what people understood and meant by "value" changed. The focus on bogland cultivation gave way to a new focus on the use of peat as fuel after the Great Famine, and for a century the economic value of peat as fuel was seen as the dominant value - indeed the only one to a large extent. The development of mechanisation brought into prospect a new value for peatland landscapes: agriculture or forestry on the cutaway that remained when the peat harvest was won.
But a lot has happened to the way we think about bogs - and the environment in general - in the half century or so since Bord
na Mona got into its stride. In the first place we know that what had once seemed an infinite expanse is indeed finite, and secondly we have become aware of the fact that peatlands fulfil other functions in the human world: they are among the earth's great repositories of carbon and play a critical role in maintaining the carbon balance that is so critical as we seek to grapple with the challenge of global warming: they are among the most valued reservoirs of natural diversity and wilderness; in many arts of the world they embody aesthetic and cultural values by which people set great store.
This realisation requires us to take a multifunctional approach to peatlands, as is being actively done in other areas, particularly in agriculture (under the New European Model of Agriculture) and forestry (Forestry Stewardship Certification), so that economic exploitation does not take place in a way which leads to the loss of other values, but that all value perspectives are taken into consideration and given due consideration in decision making and planning when it comes to peatland development, In other words, what is now truly expected of us, is "wise use".
Wise use calls for a new approach. It really does call for a conversion on the part of those who work with peat, and may be truly bewildering for people who underwent their training for work in the peat industry a few decades ago. The problem is that up to now there really has been nowhere to look for guidance and inspiration
in the way the perplexed could turn in a more pious past to their Bible. Now at least we do have our Bible in a book that enshrines the wisdom that we need if we are to continue to harvest peat in a way that is truly responsible. It is the product of years of exploration and study, discussion
and argument, between two peatland professionals who originally came to the bog from opposite perspectives (and at one remove between the organisations they represent). Hans Joosten is one of the foremost peatland ecologists of our time - and one of the most perceptive:
whereas Donal Clarke is an economist and businessman, whose prior focus is the economic value of peat. The book is the fruit of a study initiated jointly by the International Mire Conservation Group, and the International Peat Society, represented by Joosten and Clarke respectively.
The result is a remarkable synthesis that is much more than a compromise between opposing values, that seeks to approach the resolution to conflict by acknowledging and respecting the views of others. It reflects a genuine acceptance of the entire range of value that peatlands represent, and presents criteria and guidelines for decision-making. There
are five chapters. A short introductory first chapter gives us the background to the report. This is followed by a second chapter (Mires and peatlands) which is essentially
a synthesis of the extensive general literature available on the subject
of bogs and other mires: their formation and classification, location, growth
and development, their ecological and other defining characteristics. This
valuable chapter presents what is probably a more wide-ranging synthesis
than is available elsewhere in English: it is certainly a more concise synthesis
(a mere twenty pages). The third chapter deals with the values and functions
of bogs and other peatlands, and chapter four discusses the conflicts between
different value perspectives. I personally found this of particular interest,
and am impressed by the range and depth of the analysis. The final chapter
is the "framework for wise use", and this is perhaps the most valuable and
original part of the book, especially the route map it presents for those
who have to make decisions, and the guidance principles it embodies for navigating
the process of implementation planning when a decision to develop is given
in principle.
It is difficult to do justice to this
wonderful book in a short review. It is inspiring and hopeful. We can only
hope that it comes into the hands of everybody with a responsibility in any
area of peatland management, be that industrial, conservation oriented, or
in the maintenance of environmental integrity. My own copy is looking secondhand even at this early stage: this is a book
that deserves to be read over and over - and indeed it needs be, because
it is not always an easy read. My main negative reaction (though only in
the way one shrinks from necessary surgery) is that it has imposed on me
the necessity to re-structure the Peatlands Management Course we offer to
our students in the Faculty of Agriculture at UCD, and I hope the Faculty
of Science will be doing the same.
This is an enormously impressive and
successful undertaking that has been modestly described as a background paper.
From: Scéal na Móna April 2003, Volume 13, Number 46, pages 32 - 33.