How Dartmoor is shaping up to cope with climate change

As global temperatures rise and climate change accelerates, Dartmoor National Park is actively addressing these climate challenges to safeguard its unique landscapes and ecosystems. 

One of those taking action across the moor is the Dartmoor National Park Authority. 

The authority is leading a comprehensive strategy to both mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

One of things they are doing to support climate changes on the moor is their commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing the park’s resilience to climate impacts. 

This involves collaborating with various partners on several key projects:

• Dartmoor Headwaters: This project focuses on restoring and protecting the sources of Dartmoor’s rivers to slow and store water.
• South West Peatland Partnership: This initiative aims to support wildlife, store carbon, manage flooding, improve water security, enhance the historic environment, and champion livelihoods. 
• Upland Commons: This project supports sustainable land management practices on Dartmoor’s upland commons, balancing ecological needs with traditional farming practices.
• Dartmoor Hill Farm Project: This effort promotes and supports the role agriculture plays on Dartmoor from food production to the delivery of public goods. As well as acting as advocates for the community the project runs a range of programmes and activities aimed at supporting family farms.
• Devon Carbon Plan: This regional plan outlines strategies for reducing carbon emissions and increasing climate resilience across Devon, with Dartmoor playing a central role.  It has a plan for Devon to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest. It has been built around Devon’s greenhouse gas emissions. Activity to reduce these emissions have been divided into five sections: economy and resources; energy supply; food, land and sea; transport; and the built environment.

In October 2021, the UK National Park Authorities collectively issued a Joint Statement on Climate Change, highlighting their commitment to addressing the climate crisis ahead of COP26 in Glasgow. 

Dartmoor is also conducting a detailed assessment of its carbon footprint, considering both local and external emissions related to goods, services, and travel patterns.

The Dartmoor Partnership Plan sets an ambitious target for the park to become carbon-negative by 2045. 

This vision encompasses a wide range of actions, from enhancing habitat management to reducing carbon emissions. 

The assessment is consumption-based, accounting for all emissions produced in the Dartmoor National Park as well as those produced outside because of the goods, services and travel patterns of residents, businesses and visitors.

The plan identifies key challenges and opportunities, aiming for transformative change to ensure Dartmoor’s sustainability.

The Dartmoor Local Plan supports this vision by setting exemplary standards for development. 

It mandates that all new projects adhere to high criteria for accessibility, biodiversity protection, and energy efficiency, ensuring that growth does not compromise the park’s natural values.

Grahame Madge, a climate spokesman for the Met Office and frequent visitor to Dartmoor, provides critical insights into the park’s climate challenges.

He said: “Dartmoor, its wildlife and communities face many challenges, but impacts from climate change will be significant and link up with other issues.

“Dartmoor is legendary for being the most a southerly outpost of moorland, more often found further north in the UK. As such, species confined to the high tors are often at their most southerly point of their ranges in the UK.

“Climate change projections show that Devon will experience increasingly high summer temperatures as well as drier conditions in summer and wetter ones in winter. Higher temperatures may mean a more uncertain future for those ‘high-top’s specialists as their available ‘climate space’ begins to become even more restricted.

Mr Madge emphasized the need for effective habitat management to enhance resilience. “By ensuring that key habitats are well managed, we can provide a buffer against climate change impacts. This helps protect species and landscapes that are under threat,” he explained to The Moorlander. 

He also underscored Dartmoor’s role in regional water management: “As Dartmoor is the origin for many of Devon’s rivers, increased winter rainfall places a greater responsibility for water management to ensure that downstream catchments also remain resilient to issues such as flooding and water quality. Equally, developing ways of coping with a reduction of summer rainfall will also be required.”

Dartmoor’s proactive approach to climate change is setting a strong example for other regions. 

The combined efforts of the Dartmoor National Park Authority, local communities, and conservation partners are essential in ensuring the park’s long-term resilience and ecological health.