The Lithuanian Tyruliai State Nature Reserve, identified as IBA, is a former peat excavation, highly attractive to birds because of the reflooding of the excavated peat which provide them with food and habitats. Throughout the years, the reserve has been overgrown with shrubs, driving down the water levels and the resources the local wildlife was living on, as well as threatening the area from wildfires. To face it, LOD (BirdLife Lithuania) has launched a project to restore natural water levels in more than 500 ha of dry peat. As dry peat or burnt peat emits high levels of CO2, the project will also help avoid further emissions. The first results, released in 2013 and focusing on bird populations, are promising, and conservationists are optimistic about the future of the whole area’s biodiversity.

More detailed project description at the official Life Programme web-site >>