Congratulations to the Flow Country - Scotland’s first natural UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the first ever peatland to win the designation
We are delighted by the news that Scotland’s Flow Country - the largest intact blanket bog in the world, storing twice as much carbon as all of Britain’s woodlands combined - is now officially the first peatland landscape to be designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Recognition by UNESCO is a huge milestone for the Flow Country Partnership after many years of dedicated effort by a wide team of stakeholders, and it is a well deserved accolade given the importance of the landscape as a beacon for what is possible in the preservation of peatlands to fight climate change, protect unique biodiversity, and empower rural communities.
The Lab is proud to have played a small part in the Flow Country’s journey towards putting its natural capital at the very heart of local regeneration plans. The Flow Country Green Finance Initiative (FCGFI) was set up in 2020 with support from the Lab to explore blended finance for peatland restoration across the landscape. In collaboration with local leadership, and with our guidance, the Flow Country Partnership’s landscape vision, governance and investment structures were established earlier this year.
Many congratulations to everyone involved in this historic bid. The Flow Country landscape is truly one of the finest examples of peatland restoration globally - befitting of UNESCO’s status as a place on Earth that is of outstanding universal value to humanity. We hope the award serves as inspiration, raising the profile of peatlands as an unrivalled climate solution and we encourage investors to take a look at this as a nature positive product of the highest quality.
