Bord na Móna is very active within the International community on a number of levels. In particular, the company is represented well on the International Peat Society and the European Peat and Growing Moss Association.
International Peat Society
The International Peat Society (IPS) is a non-governmental, non-profit multidisciplinary organisation of scientific, industrial and regulatory members. Currently it has 1,450 individual and institutional members from 36 countries.
The mission of the IPS is to bring people and organisations together to foster the advancement, exchange and communication of scientific, technical and social knowledge and understanding for the wise use of peatlands and peat.
To achieve its goals, the IPS, via its Commissions and National Committees regularly organises conferences, symposia and workshops, publishes research results from science and industry and serves in general as a forum to bring together experts from different fields of business, science, culture and regulatory bodies dealing with peat and peatlands.
Commission V
There are ten Commissions in the IPS. Dr Catherine Farrell of Bord na Móna is Chair of Commission V: Restoration, rehabilitation and after-use of peatlands. As part of the role, Catherine attends international meetings and conferences, participates in the development of international peatland policy and co-ordinates workshops and symposia to demonstrate practical restoration and after-use of peatlands that have been utilised. These included workshops in Belfast (2009), Jyväskylä, Finland (2010) and Québec, Canada (2011). Recently Catherine organised a session on Bog Restoration at the Annual Assembly of National Representatives SAB Meeting, Commission Meetings, and EB Meeting held Québec City, Canada, 13 – 14 June 2011. http://www.peatlands2011.ulaval.ca/
Catherine has also facilitated discussions on the development of the IPS Strategy for Responsible Peatland Management.This strategy was developed with input from conservation groups and industry, to serve as a guide for policy makers throughout the world.
For detail on these activities, annual reports and proceedings, check out the International Peat Society publications page
Irish Peat Society
Bord na Móna also is represented on the Irish Peat Society (Pat Fitzgerald, Secretary and Catherine Farrell, Vice-Chair). The Society is chaired by Dr Catherine O’Connell of the Irish Peatland Conservation Group and this group has also organised interesting workshops on a range of topics: Peatland Utilisation in Ireland (2006); Carbon and Peatlands (2007); Turf-cutting in Ireland (2008); Abbeyleix Bog Restoration (2009) and Mullagh Bog Restoration (2010). The Irish Peat Society events can be followed on their Facebook page.
The next big event will be the International Peat Congress to be held in Stockholm, Sweden in 2012. This follows the very successful International Peat Congress that was co-ordinated by the Irish Peat Society and held in Tullamore in 2008. The Stockholm meeting has been titled Peatlands in Balance
Other international networks that Bord na Móna is involved in are: