Robert Caudwell has been announced as the Chair of the Lowland
Agricultural Peat Task Force – a group tasked with improving the
condition of England’s farmed lowland peat.
Robert, who currently chairs the Association of Drainage
Authorities (ADA), will explore how lowland agricultural
peatlands can be better managed to safeguard productive
agriculture as well as contributing to the government’s net zero
by 2050 target. The Task Force will be a key component of the
government’s forthcoming England Peat Strategy.
Today’s announcement coincides with World Soil Day, a UN-led campaign to raise
awareness about the importance of healthy soil and the role it
plays in our society.
Lowland peatlands provide some of the country’s most fertile
soils, which play a vital role in producing food for our nation.
Centuries of draining these areas to support intensive
agriculture have led to degraded peat soils, which emit more than
9 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year -
the highest emissions of
all peatlands in England.
Robert Caudwell, Chair of the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task
Force, said:
Climate change is posing new pressures for lowland peatlands –
including more frequent and intense flooding events, and
prolonged periods of summer drought. Under such trying
conditions, now is the time to explore how we can farm these
lands more sustainably to preserve their future and protect our
climate.
In the long-term we must harness innovation: exploring ways for
our peatland to help us to be more resilient to flooding and
drought and mitigate climate change by protecting the carbon
stored in soil. The Task Force marks the start of a
conversation between farmers, risk management authorities,
conservationists and other key stakeholders, working with
Government on a viable plan of action.
Robert will bring together key players including farmers, water
management stakeholders, conservationists, academics, and
government and its agencies, to co-ordinate work already underway
to encourage sustainable farming of lowland peatlands and
recommend new solutions. The findings of the Task Force will
inform future agricultural policy.
Robert is a leading figure in water management and brings over 40
years’ experience in arable and horticultural farming. Robert is
uniquely placed to explore more sustainable measures, including
innovative ways to re-wet farmed peatlands, effects on flood
risk, farming profits and food production, and long-term
opportunities for paludiculture (wet agriculture).
The Task Force will be supported by four regional sub-groups,
which will advise on the circumstances of our most extensive
lowland peatlands spanning North-East, North-West, South-West and
East England. The Task Force will also be supported by a
sub-group composed of experts in paludiculture.
Defra will invite members to the Task Force and the four regional
sub-groups over the coming month. The Task Force will meet for
the first time in early 2021 and report to Government in 2022.
Update
Robert chaired a productive first meeting of the Task Force on 27
January, bringing together Task Force members:
- Andrea Kelly, Broads Authority
- Charles Shropshire, G’s Global
-
, UK Centre For Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH)
- Daniel Johns, Anglian Water
- Deborah Land, Natural England
- Ian Moodie, Association of Drainage Authorities (ADA)
- Olly Watts, RSPB
- Philippa Arnold, National Farmers Union (NFU)
- Richard Lindsay, University of East London (UEL)
- Stephen Briggs, Innovation for Agriculture
- Colleagues from Defra and the Environment Agency
