Effects of EU Restoration Regulation to affect peat soils and old, natural forests; EU countries must restore 30% of peat fields by 2030, 40% by 2040, and 50% by 2050; tightening deadlines to reshape landscape management across Finland: Luke

May 7, 2025 (M-Brain Nordic News) –

The effects of the EU Restoration Regulation will not only affect old and natural forests, but also peat soils. The EU Restoration Regulation came into force last summer, but EU countries are only just starting to discuss how to achieve its objectives. The regulation is intended to halt the loss of biodiversity in EU countries. The Finnish national restoration plan is now being prepared in five thematic groups. The EU has set a target of 30% of peat fields in each member state to be "restored" by 2030, with at least a quarter of this proportion being rewetted. Rewetting means that the water level on peatlands is raised, which gradually changes their condition to match the pre-drainage state. The targets of the Restoration Regulation are gradually tightening: in 2040, 40% of peat fields must be "restored" and one third of them must be rewetted, in 2050, half of the peat fields must be "restored" and one third of them must be rewetted. Hanna Kekkonen , researcher at the Natural Resources Institute Finland, says that peat production areas can also be rewetted, and 40% of the rewetting target can be achieved in drained peat forests.