The European Union’s Restoration Regulation ((EU) 2024/1991) was approved in June 2024. The regulation is expected to increase the restoration of drained peatlands in Finland. Restoring peatlands mainly means raising the water table level and restoring the functionality of the peatland towards its natural state. Growing restoration goals require the strengthening of resources in the restoration economy, i.e. the industry that creates economic results and employment in the planning, implementation and monitoring of restoration. The purpose of this study was to find out what resources and know-how peatland restoration projects have generally required and what challenges are involved in growing the restoration economy in the current situation.

In the study, an online survey was carried out for organizations that have restored peatlands, such as forestry and environmental operators in Finland. The survey was sent to 18 recipients and the response rate was 66.7%. The respondents had restored forest-drained peatlands, peat extraction areas and agricultural peat fields. The survey material was supplemented with a separate expert interview, which mapped the size of the peatland restoration economy in Finland. According to the results, each restoration site is unique, which makes it difficult to compare the projects. Restoration projects typically employ 3–5 people per project and take 1–3 years from planning to implementation. The total costs of restoration are typically €1000–1500 per hectare. Most of the costs are for practical work, which requires machinery suitable for wet conditions. According to estimates, around 50–100 small companies and approx. 200–300 people work in the peatland restoration economy in Finland. Larger players are usually forestry companies. The restoration could create full-time work for more than a thousand people and cost an estimated 353–529 million euros, if it were decided to restore 352,500 ha of drained peatlands in Finland by raising the water table level by the year 2030.

The national restoration plan of Finland must consider the development of the restoration economy. Several years of investment in the practical workforce, training and know-how of the restoration economy are needed to reach the growing restoration goals on peatlands. In addition, it is necessary to be able to fix the structural problems of the financing of restoration projects for restoration to become more common. The realization of peatland restoration goals must be critically assessed, as the schedule of EU Restoration Regulations is challenging considering the current situation.