Claims Peak District moorland burning increases South Yorkshire's flood risk
A debate's being held on it in Parliament today
A Sheffield MP says South Yorkshire's at more risk of flooding because parts of the Peak District are being deliberately burned.
Fires are set alight on private moorlands to prepare the land for grouse shooting but some say it's damaging for the environment.
Sheffield Hallam MP Olivia Blake will urge the government to completely ban it in a Parliamentary debate this afternoon - she says it causes a number of issues:
"It obviously impacts massively on biodiversity - a lot of animals get injured on the moorlands. But we also have peatlands which are really important for water - the types of things that grow in our peatlands are really important to prevent flooding as well.
"The peatland is full of different mosses and types of plants that really hold water in the uplands and we should be doing everything we can to try and keep water up the hills so it doesn't run down the hills and cause bigger problems."
Moorland burning is usually carried out to create a more attractive habitat for grouse.
The Peak District National Park Authority doesn't do it, but it does happen legally on private moorland within the national park.
Environmentalists argue not only does the burning of peat release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but it also harms biodiversity and increases flood risk because it destroys plants and mosses which keep water upstream.
There is regulation in place, but Olivia says it's not working:
"Just this week we saw a massive amount of burning happening in some specialist areas of protection which is obviously really worrying for people who are trying to protect these spaces.
"That is illegal burning so the restrictions they have on it already just aren't working.
"It's really important, not just in our area, but right across the country where these peatlands exist. We should be protecting them and making use of them. Burning peatland is a terrible thing to do - it's really devastating for the environment.
"We need to protect these and stop them drying out and make sure that they are still that natural reservoir for water."
But gamekeepers argue moorland burning's actually good for the environment and prevents flooding.
Richard Bailey is from the Peak District Moorland Group:
"About 2% of all England's peatland emissions come from grouse moors and the right type of burning can actually be positive for carbon storage.
"Grouse moor management can actually help prevent flooding. Experts are already on record saying there is no direct evidence that it causes flooding and states that overgrazinig and a lack of trees in the catchment are a much greater problem.
"Restoration burning and the growth of mosses not only protects the fragile peat, thereby preventing loss of carbon, but also slows water flow, reducing the risk of flooding further downstream."