For the government, wetlands are an important climate measure, they invest hundreds of millions of kroner every year, but there are no targets in Sweden for how much land should be rewetted. One investigation has proposed that 100,000 hectares of forest and 10,000 hectares of arable land be rewetted within 20 years. But so far they are not keeping even half that pace and the emission reductions today are almost negligible.
If the proposal becomes a reality, researchers can now show that, in the best case, it can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by around one million tonnes a year. This corresponds to only one tenth of the total emissions from excavated land and only about a couple of percent of the total emissions in Sweden. It is also in 20 years – if the measures have been implemented and had a full impact.
Missing other tools
Peat researcher Amelie Lindgren from the University of Gothenburg says that emissions from ditched peatlands must be stopped. But at the same time, she thinks too much emphasis is placed on wetlands.
– I think that it has acquired a meaning for lack of anything else. You have vanishingly few tools in your toolbox today. It’s a good idea, but it won’t be enough in the long run to rewet all of Sweden’s ditched peatlands to deal with the emissions of greenhouse gases from Sweden, says Amelie Lindgren.