A coalition of conservation groups has called on the government to protect key uplands areas in England.

RSPB, National Trust, Wildlife Trusts and a number of other wildlife and environment organisations said that protected uplands areas such as Dartmoor, the Peak District, North York Moors and the Lake District, are not only amongst the most iconic landscapes that the country offers, but also play a key role in improving the environment, helping to combat climate change and providing havens for nature and benefits for people, such as clean drinking water.

The groups this week sent a series of recommendations to the secretaries of state for Defra and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), making a series of recommendations for the protection of uplands areas, and most importantly upland peatlands.

Only four per cent of England's upland peatlands are in good 'ecological' condition, and the remainder is not living up to its potential for providing homes for nature and combating climate change. In fact, over 80 percent of peatland in the UK as a whole is in a "degraded state."

15 percent of the EU's peatland is found in Britain, meaning a significant proportion of the continent's valuable carbon sink has been left in a state of neglect due to past drainage, fire and grazing. Peat extraction in the UK alone is estimated to release 630,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year, equivalent to the emissions of 300,000 cars.

They want the government to take action on five key areas on 200,000 hectares of England's peatland. They urged the secretaries of state to:

• Take action to bring England's upland peatlands back into the condition that will maintain the vital processes that habitats provide for society's benefit;
• Step up to the challenges outlined in IUCN's UK Peatland Programme, including the target for one million hectares (200,000 ha in England) of healthy and well-managed upland peatlands by 2020, and the Committee on Climate Change's call to triple the area of upland peatland being restored;
• Develop capital funding for peatland restoration, through a combination of public and private contribution and partnerships, commensurate with the above scale of ambition for upland peatland restoration;
• Secure funding to ensure ongoing well-managed upland peatlands through a combination of rural funding and market related funding routes, including the practical development of innovative routes including the Peatland Carbon Code;
• Work to swiftly adopt a way of estimating carbon being stored and lost from peatlands in common with other UK countries, include peatland carbon in greenhouse gas inventories and voluntarily include peatlands in the UK’s Kyoto Protocol reporting.

RSPB Conservation Director Martin Harper said on Monday, "Although our upland peatlands are revered by many, ironically for too long they have been neglected, preventing them from reaching their potential as sources of clean water, sinks to help trap carbon or refuges for threatened species.  Restoring these peatland sites will help wildlife, soak up carbon and increase their appeal as wonderful places to visit."

Patrick Begg Rural Enterprises Director of the National Trust, added, "Peatlands are the UK's rainforest, locking up over 400,000 tonnes of carbon per year, slowing floodwaters, filtering drinking water, and providing a unique landscape, habitat and home for wildlife. But they've been in serious decline for over 150 years.  The Trust's 50-year vision for our High Peak Estate maps out what can be done, but we need to act faster and together everywhere - landowners and Government - to turn things round and put all our peatlands back into good health."