Irish peatscapes: from heritage to hybrid in the Capitalocene

Abstract

This paper outlines the concept of ‘peatscapes’: hybrid assemblages of human and more-than-human, formed from past exploitation, present policies, identities and perceptions, and future plans for Irish peatlands. Following centuries of drainage and peat extraction, peatlands are now targeted for rehabilitation/restoration for biodiversity and ‘ecosystem services’, including net carbon sequestration. However, there are significant economic and cultural consequences for communities long reliant on the peat extraction industry, despite new policies to permit a ‘Just Transition’. Bound up in these issues are the various hybrid elements of the peatscape: artefacts of the peat industry, new digital and ‘green energy’ infrastructure, novel ecosystems and archaeological remains largely destroyed through peat extraction. We reflect on the tensions and contradictions intrinsic to the peatscape as a ‘wicked problem’, with no straightforward solutions. Finally, we suggest that articulations of the peatscape framed through concepts of ecocultural value, might be one way to approach reconciliation.