Why Paludiculture belongs in the EU Advanced Materials Act?

29 October 2026

Interview with Alba Alonso Adame, Wetlands International Europe

While rewetted peatlands are widely celebrated for storing carbon and protecting water resources, their potential to supply next-generation bio-based materials is often overlooked in broader European industrial strategy.

To close this gap, PaluWise joined forces with EU sister projects to advocate for the official inclusion of paludiculture biomass in the EU Advanced Materials Act. But how can policy frameworks accelerate the journey of wetland crops from local demonstration fields into high-performance insulation, sustainable packaging, and peat-free substrates?

To find out, we sat down with Alba Alonso Adame (Wetlands International Europe) to discuss the findings of our joint policy brief, the hurdles currently facing bio-based supply chains, and why recognising wet farming in EU material frameworks is a game-changer for European land managers and industrial innovation alike.

What key drivers motivated the development of this joint policy brief on integrating paludiculture into the EU Advanced Materials Act?

Since the beginning of PaluWise in February 2025, we wanted to organise joint policy actions with our sister projects. Paludiculture has a great potential for the construction sector, which is facing a need for materials that are both high quality and possess high environmental performance. In December 2025, there was an opportunity to reply to a public consultation on the Advanced Materials Act to include paludiculture and recognise the value of paludiculture biomass for critical sectors. We circulated this consultation to projects such as Paludi4All, Palus Demos, FIBSUN and PaludiAllianz, who got on board. Following this joint statement, we prepared a policy brief informing about the potential of paludiculture and how it can contribute to this legislation and wider EU climate targets.

How can incorporating wet biomass (such as cattail, reed, or sedges) into industrial value chains strengthen Europe’s circular bioeconomy and strategic autonomy?

The materials that are used in industry will need to be competitive, but also circular and more sustainable in the future. Since paludiculture produces bio-based materials derived from crops such as cattail, it contributes to the EU circular bioeconomy while keeping peatlands wet and protecting their carbon stores. There are plenty of uses for paludiculture biomass including building and insulation materials, paper and packaging, substrate and soil improvement products, energy, livestock bedding, fodder, medicine, food, and textiles. Together, these applications could reduce dependence on fossil and non-renewable resources, strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy and bringing it closer to a more sustainable future.

What immediate policy or economic incentives are most crucial to bridge the gap between research, farming, and industrial uptake for paludiculture products?

Incentives are needed to upscale paludiculture and to close the gap between research, production and industrial uptake. For the production side, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) must disincentivise peat draining for agriculture as a first step. Paludiculture should be included in the proposed National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs), expected to be the main delivery mechanism for EU funding after 2027, to ensure that farmers and land managers are fairly compensated for implementing this production system in rewetted peatlands.

At the same time, these NRPPs also need to be aligned with restoration priorities under Member States’ National Restoration Plans, currently being developed under the Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR). Another route is through the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Regulation, under which, carbon credits generated from paludiculture could help compensate carbon farming efforts on wet peatlands. If developed and implemented correctly, all of these policy frameworks can help advance paludiculture as a viable option for farmers. On the industry side, more efforts are needed to gradually include more paludiculture biomass in industrial applications. The Advanced Materials Act could help in recognising this as a better alternative to conventional materials. Finally, research needs to work together with industry to implement best practices while testing what’s feasible in practice.

This policy brief represents a joint effort across multiple sister initiatives (including Palus Demos, Paludi4All, FIBSUN, and PaludiAllianz). How important are inter-project synergies and joint advocacy in influencing EU-level policy frameworks?

From our perspective, it is essential to join forces and work on joint actions with projects that share common goals. This helps to broaden audiences and engage more stakeholders, some of whom could take part in decision-making affecting peatlands. Furthermore, joint initiatives are seen as more robust. Paludiculture is still a niche, not very broadly known by the public. However, through joint policy briefs, advocacy efforts and project actions, we spotlight the relevance and potential of paludiculture and peatlands rewetting for tackling cross-cutting challenges.

The Advanced Materials Act will offer solutions for improving the environmental performance of products and processes and facilitating circularity in the industry sector. In light of this, paludiculture biomass applications should be considered in the Advanced Materials Act to ensure cohesion with other climate objectives and to facilitate a large-scale market development.

We, the EU projects PaluWise, Palus Demos, Paludi4All, FIBSUN, and PaludiAllianz communicated our support in the inclusion of paludiculture as an advanced material. This will further boost the upscale of paludiculture in Europe’s bio-based markets.

Let’s support Paludiculture!

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