Assessment on Peatlands, Biodiversity and Climate change

Background

The 3 year (2003-2006) project undertaken by Wetlands International and the Global Environment Centre entitled “Integrated Management of Peatlands for Biodiversity and Climate Change,” funded by UNEP-GEF, the Dutch and Canadian governments, and a range of other supporters, is a global effort to assess the importance of peatlands as carbon stores and to provide recommendations on future management options to reduce the net emissions of greenhouse gases while sustaining and enhancing biodiversity and other values. One component of the project is to conduct a global assessment of Peatlands, Biodiversity, and Climate Change. This assessment aims to collate and review available information on the relationship between peatlands, biodiversity, and climate change and thus, to enable the identification of appropriate management and adaptation strategies for peatlands which will bring both biodiversity and climate benefits.  

The Seventh Conference of Parties of the Convention of Biological Diversity in February 2004 formally recognised the preparation of the Assessment through decision VII/15 on Biodiversity and Climate Change. This decision “encouraged the involvement of parties in this assessment and in preparations for the considerations of its findings by SBSTTA prior to the ninth CBD Conference of Parties in 2008“. This decision formally links the assessment within the decision making process of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Linkages are also being developed with the Ramsar Convention and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.  

This assessment is to be undertaken by a multidisciplinary team of international peatland, biodiversity and climate change experts over a period of 20 months starting in November 2004. The draft outline of the Assessment was circulated in May 2004 to a range of peatland, biodiversity, and climate change experts to elicit expressions of interest in involvement in the assessment. Subsequently lead authors, contributing authors, and reviewers are being identified from amongst those who have expressed their interest. Expert involvement in this assessment is based on a voluntary basis, whereby no consultation fees will be paid. However, they may be invited and sponsored to attend meetings related to the assessment. Experts from developing countries will be given priority for meeting support.  

Recent progress

The Assessment Team has recently organised the 1st Coordination Meeting for the above Assessment. The meeting was held from the 27-28 October 2004 at the Wageningen International Conference Centre, Wageningen, the Netherlands. Thirteen peat and climate change experts from countries such as Germany, Finland, Canada, Nigeria, Malaysia, Russia, and the Netherlands participated in this meeting. After much brainstorming and discussions in the working group sessions, participants have provided constructive inputs and comments. A revised outline of Assessment was agreed and finalised (see table below). Some key Leading Authors have been identified for specific Sections and Chapters. However, the meeting agreed that there should be more involvement of experts from the region of Asia, Africa, and southern America in order to give a geographical balance to the Assessment. The activities of the Assessment are envisaged to go according to the revised Workplan below.
 

 
We welcome any peatland related biodiversity and climate change expert, who would like to be involved in this activity on a voluntarily basis, to express interest and we are still looking for more Lead Authors, to contribute mainly to the writing and research of existing literature on specific chapters; as well as more Contributing Authors, to provide Lead Authors with information/knowledge on specific areas and topics.  

For a detailed outline of the assessment and more information, contact:  

David Lee, Technical Officer,

Global Environment Centre, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, MALAYSIAE,

mail (office): david@genet.po.my,

Website: www.peat-portal.net