Resolution of the Participants of the Conference

"Between conservation and exploitation:
C.A. Weber and the Augstumalmoor"

(Juknaiciai (/Lithuania) 2-6 October 2002

In the first week of October 2002, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Moor- und Torfkunde (DGMT), the International Mire Conservation Group (IMCG), the Nemunas Delta Regional Park, and the Botanical Institute of Vilnius organised an international symposium on the occasion of the centennial anniversary of the publication of C.A. Weber's classical monograph on the Aukštumala Raised Bog. Weber's 1902 work on the Aukštumala Raised Bog comprised the first integrated study in peatland ecology worldwide.

An English translation of this benchmark treatise and foundation for modern peatland research was published and presented to the public at the symposium. During the symposium excursion an international delegation of peatland experts visited the raised bog of Aukštumala eager to see how this locus classicus of many peatland phenomena has survived the past 100 years.

The participants were indeed delighted to find the western part of the Aukštumala Raised Bog in a good, peat accumulating state and to note that many of the phenomena that Weber first described 100 years ago -are still manifest. Such phenomena include - amongst others - the conspicuous bog plateau, the pools and hummock-hollow complexes, and the typical crooked forms of pine trees. Furthermore, the stratigraphy - and therewith the palaeo-ecological archives - of this part of the bog are still intact. It was also recognised that surficial drainage locally has had a negative impact. Measures to neutralise this impact are, however, simple and cost effective. Therefore, the western part of the Aukštumala Raised Bog can and should be conserved as a type-site of the plateau bogs of Europe with an international heritage value.

The participants recognize the socio-economic importance of the Aukštumala peatland for the local community. Any further use of this peatland should optimise the balance between economic revenues and environmental requirements conform the IPS/IMCG Wise Use approach. The long-term social and economic benefits derived from the Aukštumala peatland in its natural state can be more important for the region than the direct use of its peat resources.

The following could enhance the preservation of the Aukštumala Raised Bog:

• The wide distribution to all stakeholders of information about the site and its natural functions in order to raise awareness about its high value. For that purpose, the facilities available in the Nemunos Deltos Regional Park are to be used more actively
• The establishment of an appropriate conservation regime within the regional park territory, including the institution of such a legal status for the Aukštumala Raised Bog, that any destructive exploitation - also under the temporary pressure of regional economic circumstances - will be avoided
• The juridical and technical establishment of such conditions in the neighbouring exploited peatland area, that an optimal hydrology, geochemistry, and serenity in the unexploited western part of the bog can be maintained and restored
• The elaboration and endorsement of a management plan for the Nemunos Deltos Ramsar site, integrated in the regional development plan, and the accomplishment of a legal and financial mechanism for its implementation with involvement of available international funds.

On behalf of the participants,
Dr. Hans Joosten
Secretary-General of the International Mire Conservation Group
Chairman of the Section Geosciences of the German Peat Society

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