Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021

Lord Mancroft Excerpts

Thursday 18th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mancroft (Con) [V]]

My Lords, the Uplands Partnership, which comprises leading countryside organisations, has produced Peatland Protection the Science: four key reports that collate the latest scientific findings. This dossier is highly significant in that it strongly recommends that any policy discussions should take cognisance of the latest research. In summary, the findings indicate that, first, heather burning can have a positive effect on carbon capture and, secondly, that burning does not cause water discolouration. Environmentally important sphagnum moss recovers quickly from low-severity cool burning. The loss of controlled burning in the United States led to a severe decline in birdlife and an increase in damaging wildfires. Greenhouse gas emissions from controlled burning are relatively insignificant compared with emissions from wildlife, or indeed severely degraded lowland peatlands used for agriculture.

It is true that the evidence is uncertain on these questions, which is why continued research is vital. The studies on which Natural England has relied are mostly short-term studies, and they do not give the full picture. Longer-term studies by Andreas Heinemeyer at York University point to very different results. Will the Minister confirm that an exemption must be made to allow these studies to continue? Will he further comment on the extreme reluctance of Natural England to revisit the science on this question, which is now very out of date? A review of research from 2013 to 2020, carried out by respected independent scientists, has now found that the conclusions of the previous science are out of date and could not be regarded as a safe basis for policy-making today. This is particularly important given that the Government are currently developing a strategy for peatland.