Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of rewilding moorland through lack of management on (a) the amount of carbon sequestered in deep peat and (b) populations of ground-nesting bird species.

Wilding or re-wilding is the restoration of ecosystems to the point where they are more regulated by natural processes.

Degrading peatlands release carbon into the atmosphere. It is estimated that peatlands in England emit approximately 10 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent per year. Restoring peat to its natural wet state is likely to save significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. That is why the government has committed to restore 35,000 hectares of peatland – an area roughly the size of the Isle of Wight - by 2025 through our Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme, and a total of 280,000 hectares by 2050.

While no specific assessment has been made, restoration of moorland on peat soils that supports improved habitat function is likely to mitigate effects of climate change and support ground nesting bird populations.