You can support our work to protect precious peatlands by reporting fires you see in the uplands.
Each year, large swathes of the UK’s uplands go up in smoke – but it’s not a result of accidental wildfires. These special landscapes are sometimes deliberately and systematically set alight. Read on to find out what’s going on, why it’s a problem and how you can help protect our precious uplands by reporting a burn.
The hills, dales, moors and mountains of the UK’s uplands are some of our most ruggedly beautiful landscapes. They’re home to a vast array of species, from magnificent Golden Eagles to tiny sundew plants, and play host to globally important peatland habitats, such as blanket bog.
Peatland forms when layers of dead plants accumulate but only partially decay in waterlogged conditions, trapping the carbon the plants had captured from the air when they were alive. Over time this creates a rich and deep layer of soggy peat soil, topped with a layer of peat-forming mosses and other plants.
This squelchy habitat is incredibly important, not just for wildlife but for people too. Peatlands cover about 12% of the UK’s land area and store more carbon than all of the forests across the UK, France and Germany combined – an estimated 3.2 billion tonnes. That makes them vital in the fight against climate change.
Peatlands have other superpowers too. They can help protect against flooding by slowing the flow of rainwater over land, and they improve water quality as well, by absorbing and filtering the rainwater – a bit like a giant sponge.
But each year, between October and April, upland vegetation is set alight across the UK, mostly by grouse moor managers who want to encourage the growth of fresh heather for grouse to feed on, but also by farmers and crofters who want to increase the amount of younger, more palatable plants for their livestock.
There’s lots of evidence to show that burning is very damaging. Over time, repeated burning dries out the underlying peat, with moisture-loving, peat-forming plants like Sphagnum moss outcompeted by heather.
In this dried-out state, peat can’t form and trap atmospheric carbon, and carbon that is already locked away in the underlying peat will begin to escape, contributing to climate change.
In England, it’s estimated that each year damaged upland peat bogs release the same amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as 140,000 non-electric cars, while in Scotland peatlands are responsible for 13% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
And that’s not all. Damaged and degraded peatlands can no longer support the special wildlife that once called them home, or slow the flow of rainwater across the land, meaning that communities downstream are more at risk of flooding.
Dried-out peatlands also lose their ability to filter rainwater and as a result water companies have to spend huge amounts of money to turn murky, brown water into clean, clear drinking water for our homes.
Yes, burning on peatland is still legal, but the rules are different in different parts of the UK.
In England, the Government has taken some action to limit when and where burning can take place, but it is still allowed under licence in some circumstances and there is evidence that even where burning is prohibited the guidelines aren’t being followed.
We believe that the current restrictions on burning do not go far enough to protect this internationally important habitat and that’s why we’re calling for a ban on all burning on English peatlands.
In Scotland, burning is currently regulated by the largely voluntary Muirburn Code. This says that burning peatlands should be avoided, but we believe that this is widely ignored. A stronger regulatory framework will operate from September 2025, when burning will only be allowed under licence. Land managers may still be allowed to burn on peatlands for very specific purposes, but the legislation seeks to improve the protection afforded to peatlands.
To support our work to protect peatlands it’s important that we have evidence of when and where burning is taking place, to show to governments. And that’s where you come in.
We’re asking members of the public to report recent or active upland fires, so we can better understand the scale of burning on peatlands, track compliance with current restrictions and better influence governments to bring an end to this damaging practice. Where we receive a report of an active burn that we believe has happened illegally, we will pass this on to the relevant authority to investigate.
It’s quick, easy and anonymous to report a burn and you can do it on our website here or by downloading the Survey123 app (available on Apple and Android). Once you’ve downloaded the app, follow the steps on this page to sign up to the Upland Burning Survey Form.
We would like to hear about any active upland burning or evidence of a recent burn in England or Scotland during the burning season (which currently runs until 15 April, but can be extended to 30 April in Scotland, in some cases).
By reporting evidence of burning, you can play an important role in helping to protect peatlands for nature, people and the planet. Thank you!
