How ancient peat bogs are helping UK's battle against climate change

WATCH: Julia Chapman explains the beauty of bogs in southern UK

The UK was among the first major economies pledging to be a net zero carbon emitter by 2050.‌ But with the UN climate change conference, COP28 under way in Dubai, there have been criticisms that the UK government is not doing enough to help the country hit that target.

One particular environmental measure has received significant funding, the restoration of ancient peat bogs. They are incredibly effective at trapping and storing carbon.

For thousands of years, peatlands stretched as far as the eye could see across parts of the UK.‌ More than 80 percent have now been lost or damaged. A victim of human progress and the needs of an ever-growing population.

More than $60 million is being spent nationally to protect and restore a habitat that is incredibly effective at locking away carbon. But it needs to be wet to survive, and for generations landscapes have been drained for grazing, farming or housing.

Helen Powell from Natural England told CGTN: "Now we understand that draining our wetlands is not the right way to go at all. They start to emit carbon instead of locking up and storing it. We're just resetting the clock and taking away that initial anthropogenic impact and resetting the site to where it needs to be."

Helen is just one of a dedicated number of people doing all they can to protect and restore the peat in Dorset, in South West England.

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Site surveys, water level monitoring and plugging gaps that were previously created to drain the land are part of the restoration plan. It should improve biodiversity, and protect the specialized plants that can grow in these waterlogged conditions.

Over their lifetime they capture carbon - then partially decompose over hundreds of years, storing it away in the peat layers that are formed. Peat is also very good at preventing localized flooding, and protecting nearby properties from wildfires.

Grace Herve, Project Manager of the Dorset Peat Partnership, said: "The burning of the peat soil, that's going to sort of dry out, disturb it… as well as the plant and vegetation communities on top of the surface, they get damaged. 

"So they all need to be recolonized and restored. Obviously it has a lot of impact for the sort of smaller reptiles and any ground nesting species that might be living there. By having more water on the surface that will mitigate any potential natural wildfire instances occurring."

‌Globally it's estimated that peatlands now cover just 3 percent of the world's surface - yet holds nearly 30 percent of the soil carbon.

The race is on to protect what's left of this once abundant habitat.

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