RRR2025 - Aftermovie

02/06/2026 Just in time for International Peatlands Day, the official aftermovie for the 2025 International RRR Conference was released. A film featuring 350 participants, 84 presentations, and a common theme — the sustainable use of peatlands, also known as paludiculture.

The aftermovie on the international conference „RRR2025 - Renewable Resources from Wet and Rewetted Peatlands“ conference features voices from countries in Europe, Africa, and the U.S. that highlight varying levels of development and potential:

Lorna Parker from the United Kingdom discusses the experimental nature of the initiative there so far and the nascent cultivation of cattails in the Great Fen.

Leonard Akwany from Kenya sees paludiculture there as still in its infancy, but also recognizes its great potential for water and climate protection, as well as the advantage of being able to build on European experience.

Prof. Christian Fritz from the Netherlands emphasizes the strength of paludiculture in combining effective climate protection with economic use, as well as benefits for the water balance and the microclimate. He considers knowledge transfer, economic incentives, and cooperation among various stakeholder groups to be crucial for further implementation.

Prof. Harald Grethe from Germany estimates that the transition to large-scale rewetting and paludiculture will take between 15 and 25 years. He considers linking rewetting efforts to renewable energy and fostering intensive exchange between science and practice to be central to this process.

Orion Blake, a farmer from the U.S., shares his experiences with wetland farming in the Walkill River Valley. In light of land subsidence and increasing flooding, he sees paludiculture as a sustainable solution, but faces significant resistance. Yet through his own farm, he has been demonstrating for several years how such approaches can be implemented locally and practically.

From a niche concept to almost a trend—GMC Director Franziska Tanneberger provides insight into how paludiculture has developed over the past ten years and how it can best be scaled up in the future. In her view, the RRR conferences since 2013 have contributed to this by connecting stakeholders worldwide and fostering exchange.

Current national funding decisions, such as the Palu Guidelines, are giving the topic of paludiculture an additional boost. The RRR organizers, the Greifswald Mire Centre and the Thünen Institute, are therefore confident that they will once again bring together stakeholders from academia, the field, and politics in 2028 to share knowledge, strengthen networks, and jointly develop concrete approaches for rewetting and the productive wet land use of peatlands .