Peatlands at Ramsar CoP9

The 9th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Wetlands (COP 9) was held in Uganda, Kampala on 8 - 15 November 2005. The theme of the conference was “Wetlands and water: supporting life, sustaining livelihoods”.

In total, 793 registered participants attended the meeting. Of them, 416 were Contracting Party Delegates representing 141 countries. 214 participants represented several international and national nongovernmental organizations. The number of observers totalled 377 persons.

In his report, the Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention, Peter Bridgewater, gave “six imperatives for future action” for the Ramsar Convention:

5. Developing a fully effective Communications, Education, and Public Awareness (CEPA) programme

The activities of the Coordinating Committee on the Global Action on Peatlands (CoCoGAP) and IMCG during the 9th Conference of Parties of the Ramsar Convention in Kampala, Uganda (November 2005) raised the attention to peatlands considerably. In the official papers, peatlands suffered again from the Cinderella Syndrom, as Richard Lindsay had called it at the first Ramsar meeting where IMCG was present (Brisbane 1996): very important, but hardly visible, and therefore not valued.

- the publication and distribution of a CoCoGAP brochure “Peatlands, do you care?” (available as pdf under www.imcg.net)

- the publication and distribution of an IMCG flyer and a poster on Peatlands in South Africa and Lesotho (also available under www.imcg.net publications)

In the next Newsletter we will report more about the contacts made, the new opportunities of peatland conservation and wise use in Africa, and the perspectives of further effective work for IMCG in Africa.

So far the new brochure “Peatlands: do you care?” has been distributed as follows:

- 1000 copies to Uganda (Ramsar)

- 1000 copies to Montreal (UNFCC & CBD sbstta)

- 300 copies for IMCG (largely distributed during the IMCG Tierra del Fuego meeting)

- 250 copies for the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association (CSPMA)

- 250 copies to the International Peat Society (IPS)

- 250 copies to the Ramsar Secretariat

- 250 copies to Wetlands International (WI)

- 150 copies to RSPO (Singapore)

- 50 copies local distribution in Malaysia (GEC)

The side event of the Ramsar Coordinating Committee on Global Action on Peatlands (CoCo-GAP) went very well, specifically thanks to Jan Sliva and other IMCG members, who did a very good job in getting everything organised.

The meeting was chaired by Nora Namakambo from the Uganda Wetlands Inspection Division, and co-chaired by Tobias Salathé (Ramsar Bureau). The event was attended by about 130 participants.

It was opened by a great performance of a traditional Ugandan Kabira Music, Dance & Drama Group of about 30 artists who created a festive atmosphere in the great Victoria Hall of the Speke Resort. Simultaneously the motto of the side event “Peatlands, do you care?” was projected on the wall behind the dancers.

After the opening of the side event by Nora Namakambo, Clayton Rubec (Canada) presented an overview of the history of the Ramsar Global Action Plan for Peatlands, a history in which Clayton had played an important part. This was followed by a joint presentation from Jaakko Silpola (IPS) and Tatiana Minaeva (IMCG) on the cooperation between IPS and IMCG.

A presentation by Marcel Silvius (Wetlands International) on the wise use of tropical peatlands was an eye opener for many of the participants in regard of the climate and poverty impacts of the extensive peatland degradation and peat fires in Southeast Asia.

The joint presentation by Piet-Louis Grundling (IMCG South Africa) and Nora Namakambo on African peatlands made clear to the audience that peatlands are a common feature in Africa, have a high value for biodiversity conservation, and play a key role in the lives of many of its rural communities. One of the side event’s participants wrote an article in response to their presentation in the “Civil Society update” entitled: “Peatlands: At least one thing I learned from CoP9”, in which he stated that he had never realised that Uganda has so many peatlands (over 50% of its wetlands are peatlands) and that they are so important.

Hans Joosten’s presentation on “What after CoP9” hammered in the slogan “When you think about wetlands, think about peat”, just to drive the message home that even within the wetlands community peatlands are under-valued and remain unnoticed. His talk included the word “peatland” or “peat” at least twice in every sentence.

The side event was concluded by the presentation and launch of the CoCo-GAP Peatlands Brochure. It was introduced by an audio-visual presentation made by the Global Environment Centre (GEC). The booklet, which is the joint product of many CoCoGAP members, was presented by Jaakko Silpola (IPS) to Peter Bridgewater, the Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention. All participants received a copy and further distribution was arranged to other CoP delegates outside the side event. After a brief photo-session, all participants were treated to a fine lunch with some nice wine and other drinks.

All in all, I believe that the CoCo-GAP made its presence felt at the Conference and peatlands did receive some useful attention. Many of the resolutions that have been adopted at the Conference make specific reference to peatlands. One of CoCo-GAP’s roles will be to ensure that these will now receive the appropriate follow-up by the parties.

- Over US$100 million invested in peatland wise use, conservation, restoration, and poverty alleviation projects

- Advances in data bases and mapping -- gaps exist in Africa, South America and Central Asia

- 80% of the area of peatlands remains pristine - mainly in Boreal and Subarctic

- Peatlands in some regions ( especially in tropical countries) under severe pressure.

- 30% of the Contracting Parties reported this year they have taken actions supporting the GGAP while 60% say they intend to.

- Globally, Ramsar sites now include at least 200 peatlands: a valuable network for conservation, science and monitoring

- Carbon emission from peat fires in 1997/98 in Indonesia: 810 million -2570 million tonne

- Raise awareness on economic, social and health impacts and costs of peat fires

Peatlands and mires are wetlands and are like all wetlands in Africa a vital resource for its people!

Host country: Uganda; Area: 241,000 km²; open water: 20 %; wetlands: ca. 30 000 km² (ca. 14 % of land area)

floodplains: 20,000 km²; approx. peatland area: 12,000 – 14,000 km² = 40 – 45 % of wetlands

Peatlands provide important functions and socio-economic values for the community. Threats to peatlands include degradation and loss due to human pressure and non-wise use.

We congratulate you upon your successful concluded participation in Cop9 in Uganda. Uganda wetlands especially those in form of peatlands are highly degraded and abused. Current information on peatlands in Uganda is very limited yet they are found in many different areas. It is treated as wasted land and it’s key value is not known to Ugandans. This can be evidenced taking the place on which Manyonyo complex in which Cop9 was hosted, was built on peat lands.

KEA want to set up wise use of peat land in Uganda, create awareness of peatland functions and values; establish partnership between conservationists, scientists, research institutes and the private sector; Establish networks and partnership nationally regionally and globally in order to address peatland problems. Identify and develop projects essential to achieve the wise use of peat lands nationally. Engage Government to formulate policy framework on the protection and wise use of peatland. We are waiting for your advice, guidance and comment.

Ramsar Press Release: Global Environment threatened by Peatland Mismanagement …

KAMPALA, 14 November 2005: Global peatland degradation is affecting the livelihood of millions and also leads to massive carbon dioxide emissions. This significant issue has been ignored for far too long. Carbon emissions from peatlands released from degraded peatlands in the tropical region alone amount to more than the emission reductions to be achieved during the first commitment period of the Kyoto protocol. Urgent work is needed to address these issues according to the Ramsar Coordinating Committee for Global Action on Peatlands (CC-GAP) in their statements at the 9th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention currently held in Kampala, Uganda.

“Peatland degradation is currently one of the world’s most serious environmental problems affecting the health and livelihoods of millions of people and pushing the world towards rapid global change” noted Marcel Silvius, Senior Programme Manager from Wetlands International. More carbon has been released to the atmosphere peatland fires in SE Asia and

Russia

in the past few years than the emission reductions to be achieved during the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (2008-2012) said Faizal Parish, Director of the Malaysia-based Global Environment Centre (GEC). “The first Meeting of Parties of the Kyoto Protocol will be held in Montreal in two weeks time. We hope that it will consider the issue of peatland emissions within the development of the climate regime beyond 2012” he added.

Peatlands are one of the world major wetland types covering 400 million ha in about 180 countries. There is a lack of awareness of the huge environmental and socio-economic consequences of peatland loss. Peatlands are important for water supply and regulation, regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and global climate, high biodiversity and they are a source of livelihood for many communities. They are also used for forestry, agriculture, and a source of peat for horticulture. Unfortunately, many peatlands around the world have been misused or degraded.

“The complex problem of peat management in relation to poverty, climate change and water resource degradation and biodiversity loss has been the stimulus to establish the CC-GAP. “This is a unique partnership of representatives from different stakeholders including industry, scientific and environmental NGOs, governments and research institutions - united by a vision of wise use of peatlands” said Jaakko Silpola, Secretary General of the Finland-based International Peat Society. “CC-GAP is a great model for partnership between different sectors to address wetland wise use” added Peter Bridgewater, Secretary General of the global Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

Comments were made at the launch of a new publication called ‘Peatlands. Do you Care? at the Conference of Parties of the Ramsar Convention – a gathering of over 1000 representatives of 147 countries addressing the serious challenges of wetland management worldwide. The purpose of the booklet is to promote awareness and action on the problem of peatland degradation among policy makers, experts and stakeholders.

Our Argentinean friends organised a fabulous meeting in Tierra del Fuego (TdF) from 21 November to 1 December 2005.

The event started with a Welcome cocktail, with as special guest the TdF Secretario de Promoción Económica y Fiscal, CPN Ramiro Caballero.

The following day we visited Tierra del Fuego National Park where we saw the first Sphagnum mires at Roca Lake and Laguna Negra. In the evening Lebrecht Jeschke presented a public presentation with an extensive overview of the mires of the world.

On 23 November 2005, we visited Andorra Valley (guided by Andrea Coronato, who wrote her PhD thesis on the glacial geomorphology of the valley) with its Carex mires, a peat mining operation, and the spectacular patterned bogs. The highlight was – for the ones that managed to climb it - the view over the peatlands from the hillside, after a heavy struggle through the Nothofagus forest. In the evening Ernesto Piana gave an exciting talk about the Yamanas culture.

The next day we visited the urban mires in Ushuaia city, the Oyarzun peat mining settlement and the Carbajal and Tierra Mayor Valley mires.

On 25 November 2005 the sloping mires of Paso Garibaldi were on the program, as were the patterned peatlands of Rancho Hambre settlement. Near Harberton, we visited an unplanned, but special mixed mire and the historical Harberton farm where we were received and informed by the legendary Natalie Goodal. The evening camping in Cambaceres was proceeded by a long open air night festival with abundant fire, food, and drinks and – by way of exception – nó rain but instead the Southern Cross sparkling over the landscape.

Next day it rained again, when we continued in eastern direction, to the Moat area and its Astelia/Donatio mires and Drimys forests, where my student Ron waited in the wilderness –without food. On 27 November we studied the sedge percolation mires near Fagnano Lake, Esperanza, and Río Fuego and shopped at the famous bakery in Tolhuin town. In the evening in Río Grande city, a lecture of Nora Loekemeyer provided an overview of the protected areas of Tierra del Fuego.

On 28 November 2005 we continued our reconnaissance of the Steppe –Ecotone with a fen located in María Behetty farm and vegas in Los Flamencos farm accompanied by Marta Collantes. After a short walk to a last Sphagnum mire near Tolhuin, we returned to Ushuaia city.

The Scientific Sessions during the following congress in Hotel del Glaciar (29 November – 1 December, opened by the Tierra del Fuego Minister of Economy) were of high quality and broad variety. The organizers provided an extensive abstract volume of the many presented papers.

The last congress day was devoted to discussing the landscape ecology and development of various mires at the hand of an inspired overview of Ab Grootjans. Last but not least the Ushuaia Statement was conceived.