Bog ecosystems

Beautiful and dramatic, UK peatlands are evocative landscapes home to rare and endangered wildlife, as well as rich in cultural history. The UK’s first collaborative Peatland Strategy has been developed by the IUCN UK Peatland Programme to capture and embed, for the long term, a shared vision for our peatlands, helping maintain a focus across a broad partnership and allowing progress to be marked and celebrated. The UK Peatland Strategy encompasses all peatlands in the United Kingdom and is also of relevance to the UK Overseas Territories.

The starting point of the present study is the fact that the quality of biotopes in Switzerland that are nationally protected is deteriorating and some are also shrinking in size. There are nearly 6000 biotopes in Switzerland, covering about 2% of the country's surface area. They belong to five categories: raised bogs, fens, floodplains, dry meadows and pastures, and spawning areas for amphibians. The declining quality and quantity of biotopes may be due to insufficient funding to ensure their protection and maintenance.