UNDP/GEF Peatland Restoration Project in Belarus

In autumn 2004, UNDP and the Global Environmental Facility agreed to provide co-funding for a US$3 million project on restoring peatland in Belarus. Using these funds, degraded peatlands at 17 sites across Belarus with a total area of 42 000ha will be restored. This large-scale peatland restoration will be critical to the conservation of the breeding grounds of the aquatic warbler, the most threatened migratory passerine in Europe.

During the Second Polessie Conference in May 2002, the Minister for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection in Belarus Khorushik announced that Belarus intends to recreate wetlands in formerly drained peatlands on an even larger scale.  The figure he mentioned was more than 700 000ha.

The Medium-sized Project will address peatland degradation in Belarus by aiming to achieve global benefits in the areas of sustainable land management, climate, and biodiversity while respecting the socio-economic development concerns of local communities. The project will build on both national and international experience to introduce wetland “renaturalisation” on degraded peatlands and will demonstrate the potential for managing degraded peatlands in a way that generates multiple global benefits. To address existing barriers to restoration of degraded peatlands and ensure long-term interest and commitment, actions will be taken at three levels: the strategic level, research and capacity development, and on-the-ground investments in 17 pilot sites. Through this approach the project aims to resolve the decision-making deadlock relating to the use of degraded peatlands. It will significantly increase the capacity of decision-makers and land-users to deal with restoration issues.

Peatlands have been globally recognized as one of the most valuable and at the same time most threatened types of natural habitats. Belarus is a country with a substantial share of peat- and non-peat wetlands (6.4% of the country is covered by peatlands, compared to 3.4% for the globe on average) ^[1] . The overall area of natural peatlands in Belarus before drainage (1950) was 2 939 000 ha. As a result of large-scale drainage between 1950-1990, more than 54% of peatlands were drained for peat extraction and agriculture.

Climate change

The use of 10 billion m³ of peat in both agriculture and energy has resulted in the release of huge volumes of CO₂ into the atmosphere, contributing substantially to emissions of greenhouse gases in Belarus and a wider region. Peatland drainage has led not only to microclimatic changes, but also regional climate changes across Belarus. Long-term monitoring data indicate that in the wake of peatland drainage the average June-July temperatures in southern Belarus have dropped 0.3-0.70°С, precipitation has decreased by 10-31 mm, and extreme frosts and droughts have become more frequent during vegetation period (once every 4-5 years) ^[2] , which is indicative of regional aridization of the climate. The proposed project will assist in curbing this process. By estimates, the key climate effect of the project will be cessation of huge ongoing CO₂ emissions from mineralising peatlands. Emissions are expected to be reduced approximately 10-12 times. The project will prevent fires occurring annually on this type of degraded lands, which amounts to an additional source of large one-time CO₂ emissions. 2 500-3 000 fires occur on degraded peatlands annually in Belarus alone.

Land degradation

Apart from the effect on global warming, there is a possibility that ecological rehabilitation of degraded peatlands will improve microclimate and sub-regional climate through flooding of those areas on the brink of desertification. Today the southern part of Belarus has about 1.5 million ha of dry peat soils used in agriculture. Peat destruction there is huge. 223 000 ha of such agricultural peat soils have completely turned from peatlands into sands and a large anthropogenic desert is establishing itself in the center of Europe. In addition to agricultural lands, there are 209 500 ha of peatlands degraded as a result of peat extraction for fuel. The potential imminent aridisation of micro- and sub-regional climate, mentioned above, will result in declining crops and significant damage to biodiversity. These and other land degradation processes (such as depletion of the organic layer of soils due to contraction, mineralisation, and deflation; reduced flow or desiccation of small rivers and water channels; disappearance of valuable vegetation associations; increases in eutrophication of rivers and lakes) will also be curbed by the project.

Biodiversity conservation

Finally, the project will result in conservation and reestablishment of habitats for a number of regionally and globally important species. On the species level the following SPEC I and II bird species were affected by habitat loss as a result of peatland drainage: Greater spotted eagle Aquila clanga, Corncrake Crex crex, Great snipe Gallinago media, Aquatic warbler Acrocephalus paludicola. The large-scale drainage resulted in disappearance of 11 plant species in Belarus. 33 species of the European Red List of Threatened Plants shrunk considerably in their population size, including Caldesia parnassifolia, Carex davalliana, Carex heleonastes, Cladium mariscus, Coeloglossum viride, Corallorhiza trifida, Cypripedium calceolus, Cypripedium guttatum, Dactylorhiza baltica, Dactylorhiza fuchsii, Dactylorhiza incarnata, and Gymnadenia conopsea.

As the share of extracted and abandoned peatlands grows, populations of the threatened plants continue to decline. According to the estimates of Belarusian scientists, large-scale restoration of extracted and abandoned peatlands would permit the rapid increase in population sizes of such rare plants as Angelica palustris, Bistorta major, Betula humilis, Carex heleonastes, Empetrum nigrum, Glyceria declinata, Oxyccocus microcarpus, Pedicularis sceptrum-carolinum, Polemonium caeruleum, and Rubus chamaemorus. Populations of both rare fauna and flora have declined because the drainage of peatlands has resulted in fragmentation of their formerly continuous habitats. They now occur on the few remaining natural mires and sporadically along the periphery of the anthropogenically damaged sites. Their population numbers are directly related to the habitat area, and rehabilitation of their potential habitats, linking the now segregated sites will contribute to the stabilisation and improvement of the populations of these species in Belarus.

On the habitat level, most of the above-mentioned species are tied to fen mires. Drainage has decreased the area of natural fens drastically, leaving only some 34 thousand ha of this habitat in natural state. Restoration will directly address this loss of habitat.

For more information:

Alexander Kozulin: Kozulin@tut.by

Norbert Schäffer: norbert.schaffer@rspb.org.uk