On October 14, 2025, the PaluWise project joined forces with the LIFE Multi Peat project to host a paludiculture workshop titled: “The future is wet: Cultivating change through wet farming and paludiculture.” At the Provinciehuis Vlaams-Brabant in Leuven, the joint workshop successfully brought together experts to discuss the core question: Why is paludiculture relevant, and how can we successfully develop a market for it?
Download the Agenda here.
Morning session: Privacy, policy and practice
The first part of the workshop featured talks from five experts working at the nexus of peatland restoration and sustainable land use. The session was opened by Jutta Paulus (European Parliament), who provided essential reflections on paludiculture, nature restoration, and the future policy required to support this transition.
Key insights from the morning included:
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Ernesto Aguirre (Fundación Global Nature – FGN) highlighted the critical role of Mediterranean wetlands as carbon sinks, referencing the LIFE Wetlands4Climate initiative. He showcased FGN’s methodology for reducing and offsetting GHG emissions through wetland management and restoration in Spain. Critically, he suggested that wetland restoration, including paludiculture, warrants formal recognition under the Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF).
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Jan Peters (Michael Succow Foundation – MSF) bridged the gap between policy and practice, stressing the urgency of rewetting peatlands to achieve the SDGs. He demonstrated how MSF is moving from knowledge to action by making alliances of pioneers and engaging with large businesses, such as Procter & Gamble, interested in sustainable packaging using paludiculture biomass. Peters illustrated that even a small market share (5%) of paludiculture raw materials could cover approximately 30% of the peatland area slated for rewetting in Germany. MSF announced plans to launch a dedicated biomass exchange platform in February 2026 to connect supply and demand.
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Gert-Jan Van Duinen (Bargerveen Foundation) reinforced the message: if peatlands are to be used, they must be used wet. He presented successful examples of paludiculture in the Netherlands, including the long tradition of growing reed, and showcased the wide range of end-uses for paludiculture biomass, such as insulation, textiles, and bioplastics.
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Mike Longden (John Moores University) provided practical insights into paludiculture implementation in the UK, sharing a video that illustrated innovative field techniques, including reshaping the surface, rewetting the land, and drone-assisted seeding to optimise for machinery harvesting.
Afternoon session: Field trip to Belgium’s only paludiculture site
The afternoon session moved from theory to practice with a field trip to the Strackxhoeve farm in Laakdal, the pilot site for the LIFE Multi Peat project. This location is significant as it hosts the only paludiculture pilot site currently operational in Belgium, focusing on Willow cultivation. Participants learned firsthand about the numerous challenges inherent in a pioneer project, confirming the important role of pilot sites in gathering real-world data.
Key takeaways from the site visit included:
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The willows, which can grow up to 4 metres, are a triploid variety optimised for fibre – an essential component for insulation material. They are planted in double rows to accommodate future conventional machinery harvesting, though they are currently harvested by hand.
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Despite initial planting challenges due to rain, the site is now demonstrating that alternative agriculture on wet peat is entirely possible.
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The involvement of the site-owner is crucial, as well as engaging monthly with other local farmers to listen to their concerns and showcase the viability of paludiculture, with the goal of convincing more local land-users to transition.
The LIFE Multi Peat site in Laakdal is a powerful showcase project aiming to convince more farmers and decision-makers of the potential benefits, ultimately paving the way for industrial processing and the subsequent large-scale deployment of paludiculture across the region and the wider EU. Very similar to PaluWise!
Next steps
The knowledge and collaborations forged at this joint workshop will be integrated into the PaluWise project’s ongoing work to develop policy recommendations and practical guidelines for paludiculture implementation across Europe.
Thankful to the organisers! 
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