Healthy peatlands are among the most effective natural carbon stores on Earth. When damaged through drainage, forestry planting or erosion, peatlands release carbon into the atmosphere. Restoration reverses that process by rewetting and stabilising the peat, allowing these landscapes to recover their natural ecological function.

The Flow Country Partnership is supporting one of Europe’s most ambitious peatland restoration programmes, combining practical restoration with world-leading scientific monitoring and data collection.

This work contributes to:

• Long-term carbon sequestration
• Biodiversity recovery
• Improved water management
• Climate resilience
• Sustainable rural development

The partnership also works closely with academic institutions and research organisations to ensure restoration outcomes are evidence-based, measurable and internationally relevant.

The restoration of the Flow Country also presents a significant opportunity for organisations seeking high-integrity carbon investment with measurable environmental and social impact.

Through carefully developed peatland restoration projects, investors can support the recovery of degraded peatlands while helping to generate verified carbon units under recognised UK standards.

Unlike many offsetting schemes, Flow Country projects deliver multiple co-benefits alongside carbon reduction, including:

• Protection of internationally important habitats
• Biodiversity enhancement
• Water quality improvements
• Support for local jobs and rural communities
• Long-term landscape resilience

Investment supports tangible restoration activity on the ground, helping to restore damaged peatlands at landscape scale while contributing to wider climate goals.

Projects are developed in line with recognised governance and verification frameworks, providing transparency, scientific credibility and long-term environmental value.

The Environmental Research Institute at UHI North, West and Hebrides is internationally recognised for its work in peatland science, ecological restoration and climate research. Based in Thurso in the heart of the Flow Country, ERI combines world-class research with practical environmental innovation rooted in the landscapes of the North Highlands.

Its researchers work across peatland ecology, carbon science, hydrology and environmental monitoring, helping to shape understanding of how peatlands respond to climate change and restoration at landscape scale. The institute’s close connection to the Flow Country provides a unique living laboratory for internationally significant research and long-term monitoring.

ERI’s peatland research programme is led by Professor Roxane Andersen, Professor of Peatland Science at UHI and one of the world’s leading peatland researchers. Her work on peatland restoration, carbon dynamics and climate resilience has helped establish the North Highlands as a globally important centre for peatland science and restoration expertise.

Through collaboration with the Flow Country Partnership, ERI helps ensure restoration and natural capital projects are underpinned by robust scientific evidence, long-term monitoring and measurable environmental outcomes.

recent projects

Discover our partners’ pioneering work in environmental monitoring and conservation science.