Return of bogs in Britain? He said there were clear cost benefits to society in avoiding peatland damage, and those benefits should be reflected in support given to land managers for protecting peat areas. Alongside the "million hectare peatland challenge," a conference of the IUCN UK Peatland Programme in York is launching a new peatland code which aims to provide standards and science to give business confidence that their financial contributions are making a verifiable difference to UK peatlands. The UK is a "peat-rich" country but almost all of its peatland is degraded, IUCN UK peatland programme chairman and chief executive of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Dr Rob Stoneman said. "Our peatlands have been heavily damaged, mainly through drainage under agricultural subsidies in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, but also by over-burning and in some cases by over-grazing," he said. The UK had an opportunity to lead the way in restoring its peatland, to encourage the countries with the most peat - Russia, Canada and Indonesia - to protect their carbon sinks, he suggested. It is also essential to restore peatlands to maintain clean water supplies. Where drinking water comes from upland catchments which include large areas of peatland, water suppliers are forced to large sums cleaning discoloured water from degraded peat, and the situation is worsening. Yorkshire Water's catchment manager Andrew Walker said: "As a business that depends on peatlands as part of our natural water supply, we are convinced that maintaining peatlands in good condition is the most effective approach for the company and our customers. Spending on peatland restoration now avoids much greater long term costs of treating drinking water affected by damaged peatland. Restoring peatland also provides a win for wildlife, with species ranging from curlews to water voles benefiting from the habitats. In Cambridgeshire, the Great Fen project aims to return 14 square miles of peaty fenland to a mosaic of wetland landscapes that will preserve the peat, and create habitat for wildlife ranging from cranes to dragonflies. The 50-year project, a collaboration between the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, government agencies Natural England and the Environment Agency, Huntingdonshire District Council and the Middle Level Commissioners, includes two remaining fenland reserves, Holme Fen and Woodwalton Fen. Great Fen project manager Kate Carver said: "The idea is bigger, better, more joined-up, to create connectivity between these two little remnants, to create a more joined-up landscape. Wildlife has places to go, to expand, with a bigger, better ecosystem to support it. Already the project has seen arable land, where the drained and dried peat is being lost through erosion and "fen blows," turned over to grazing as part of plans for wet and dry grazing habitat, and new wetland areas are being created. The project, which has had millions of pounds of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, also aims to create visitor facilities, preserve fen cultural heritage and provide economic opportunities for the local area. A fundraising appeal is currently being run to help buy an important area of farmland - Engine Farm - within the project's area to as part of efforts to create the "landscape-scale" wetlands. Do you agree with restoring peatlands?