Bogs can help stop flooding

ONE of the first jobs Bord na Móna had to do prior to the commencement of commercial turfcutting, in the 1930s, was to drain the bogs. Now, there are calls to reverse the process and to “rewet” bogs as part of a process to combat the effects of climate change.

Due to peat extraction, land reclamation and drainage, we now have justone per cent of the raised bogs we once had.

So, action is necessary to save what’s left and 12 special conservation area (SAC) bogs, mainly in the midlands, have been chosen for an EU-funded project.