The PaluWise Project

The PaluWise (Paludiculture demonstrations and multi-actor approaches for scaling up sustainable peatland use in Europe) project focuses on advancing paludiculture — the productive and climate-friendly use of wet and rewetted peatlands. This approach helps preserve peat soils, reduce land subsidence, and significantly lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to traditional drained land use. Across Europe, 80–90% of wetlands and peatlands have been degraded or lost, mainly due to drainage-based agriculture. By converting these lands to paludiculture, we canpromote carbon sequestration, support biodiversity, and foster long-term peat formation. However, while several small-scale pilot projects have shown promise, large-scale implementation has yet to be demonstrated. PaluWise addresses this gap by establishing four large-scale paludiculture demonstration sites.

These sites serve as innovation hubs for testing and showcasing real-world paludiculture solutions across various landscapes. The project follows a multi-actor approach, involving farmers, researchers, businesses, and local communities to co-create sustainable land-use models that are both scalable and economically viable. Through close collaboration with stakeholders, the project aims to:

(1) Identify and share best practices in paludiculture farming;

(2) Improve value chains and logistics for harvested biomass;

(3) Develop water and soil management strategies tailored to specific crops;

(4) Ensure community engagement and a just transition to sustainable practices.

Latvia is represented in the project by the Lake and Peatland Research Centre, contributing knowledge and experience from Baltic peatland restoration and sustainable use. The PaluWise consortium includes 20 partner organisations from across Europe, including research institutions, NGOs, industry partners, and peatland restoration experts from Finland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Lithuania, Ireland, and Latvia.

The project is funded under HORIZON-CL6-2024-CLIMATE-01