Despite threats of serious criminal damage and claims for damages running into several hundred million for having scattered seeds on Grimsås Marsh, the organisation ‘Restore Wetlands’ is now carrying out the same action at the peat extraction site at Trottagårdsmossen.
“Sowing seeds on a bog is now the most radical thing one can do, so we are extending our sowing actions to all illegal peat extraction sites,” says Helen Wahlgren
The licences for both Trottagårdsmossen and Grimsås mosse cover peat for energy purposes. However, agricultural peat is being extracted at both bogs. The difference is that the licence for Trottagårdsmossen dates from 2008 and peat extraction there is in its final stages.
At Trottagårdsmossen, Neova holds a licence that covers only the extraction of peat for energy purposes. They have not requested permission to extract anything other than energy peat. In recent years, they have only extracted horticultural peat, even though they have reached the energy peat deposits.
- “At Trottagårdsmossen, we can see the future of Grimsås mosse. Neova will probably only extract agricultural peat for as long as the agreement lasts, just as at Trottagårdsmossen.” The County Administrative Board’s decision regarding Grimsås mosse seems to mean absolutely nothing, says Pontus Bergendahl.
The agreement for Trottagårdsmossen runs until 2033. Five years before that, Neova must begin winding down operations and restoring the land to its natural state – in other words, as early as next year. Neova has now submitted an application for an extension to continue extraction.
“It’s time to shut down the peat extraction site now! We also want Neova to tell us exactly how much energy peat has actually been extracted at Trottagårdsmossen,” says Helen Wahlgren.
In the context of cultivation, it is important that the peat sold is completely sterile, free from other plants or seeds. This does not apply to energy peat, which is burnt in thermal power stations. The agreement for peat extraction at Grimsås mosse relates to energy peat, and the County Administrative Board has refused Neova’s request to change the licence from energy peat to horticultural peat.
The Director-General of Svensk Torv, Rickard Axdorff, writes that this is “industrial sabotage – hundreds of millions of years of hell” and that “the bog may well be destroyed for all future harvests”.
“It’s rather ironic that the ‘Peat General’ is saying that we are the ones who have destroyed the bog, whilst Neova’s machinery has stripped away all the vegetation. Incidentally, it’s perfectly possible to burn the peat despite the presence of a few seeds, just as described in the agreement,” says Pontus Bergendahl.
Restore Wetlands is running a campaign against peat extraction at Grimsås bog and now also at Trottagårdsmossen. The campaign will continue into August. This is the third summer that Återställ Våtmarker has been in Grimsås to save the bog and secure a ban on peat extraction in Sweden.