STOMPER: Satellite Technology for Opportunity Mapping and Prioritisation of Ecosystem Restoration.

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In the UK, over 10% of the land is covered by peat, but 80% of this peat is degraded: you can see this on a walk in Scotland, where the land is drying and breaking up. This is a problem because peat contains a lot of carbon, and as it dries it releases this carbon into the atmosphere. In response to this, we need to know which areas are degrading the fastest, in order to prioritise restoration activities and secure carbon storage, thereby mitigating climate change. Big companies like BP are investing in restoration projects like these, which are known broadly as Nature Based Solutions (NBS) to climate change. However, we do not have a good system for mapping where degraded peat is, nor for tracking how it is changing with time. This means we can't easily see which areas need to be prioritised for restoration, to make the biggest possible impact on climate change. This creates a technology gap, and also a market gap for innovative UK technologies to address climate change and help create jobs to support post-Covid-19 recovery. Space Intelligence is an exciting analytics company that uses satellite data to support nature restoration projects around the world. In this project called _STOMPER_, the Space Intelligence team will test and deploy new satellite analysis technologies to map degraded peat. We will then create a web mapping system that will highlight the priority areas for Nature Based Solutions in peatlands. This will take into account peat's ability to capture carbon from the atmosphere to combat climate change, but also the other uses of the land, such as tourism and biodiversity benefits. This decision tool will help the government, companies, charities and landowners obtain the most benefit for the climate from investment in nature, and plan restoration sensibly. This will help all teams in the private and public sectors to develop high-impact restoration projects more quickly, and create much-needed land-management jobs in rural areas heavily affected by economic impacts of Covid-19, as well as new digitech jobs. Whilst we are focussing initially on land management in the UK, Space Intelligence has years of experience selling services internationally, and is selling into a growing international market, supporting long-term growth and high-value employment in the post-Covid UK economy, whilst addressing climate change.