Peat bogs, from Patagonia´s Aysén region to Scotland

June 2nd was International Peatlands Day, a day that commemorates this important ecosystem and highlights its relevance to sustainability efforts worldwide. Peatlands are wetlands that store large amounts of carbon in the form of decomposing organic matter. These structures are major carbon sinks (storing more carbon than all the world’s forests combined), and they also regulate water cycles and are areas of little-studied biodiversity. In Chile, these ecosystems are found from the Los Ríos Region to the Magallanes and Tierra del Fuego Regions, and they are characterized primarily by Sphagnum magellanicum moss. Unfortunately, peatlands are currently being exploited for the harvesting of Sphagnum sp. moss or the peat itself. In the Aysén Region, we have large expanses of peatlands, most of them unprotected, and at the Kreen Foundation, we would like to contribute by studying and conserving them.

In the United Kingdom, particularly in Scotland, peat extraction is a long-standing practice that has degraded large areas of peatlands, and efforts are already underway to restore these ecosystems. Their experience tells us that it is a complex and extremely costly process. Therefore, as host of COP26, the United Kingdom wants to showcase its experience in peatland restoration and regeneration as part of its nature-based solutions.

To this end, in collaboration with the UK Embassy, ​​the Ministry of the Environment, NatureScot Peatland Action and the UK Science and Innovation Network program, we developed a short film that portrays this problem, starting from a local perspective of the Aysén region in Chilean Patagonia and traveling to the peatlands of northern Scotland.

To learn more about peatlands in Chile and around the world, click here.

To find out how peatlands can help us protect the planet, click here.

To learn about the Peatland Action project for the conservation and restoration of peatlands in Scotland, click here.