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by Jennie Whinam
My first
participation in northern hemisphere mire symposia and conferences began in
2000 in Quebec at the joint Millenium Wetland Event, when Line Rochefort invited
me to present a paper on sustainable Sphagnum moss harvesting in the
southern hemisphere (and where I was able to finally meet my long-term correspondent
and contact with the northern Sphagnum world, Prof. Dicky Clymo). This
was followed in 2002 by the French IMCG field symposium, when I was co-opted
to the Main Board. Until then, most of my peatlands work had involved contact
with Tasmanian, mainland Australian and New Zealand mire colleagues.
Most of my mire work has concentrated on the ecology and conservation of Sphagnum peatlands in Tasmania, on mainland Australia and on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island, as well as the pool complexes on sub-Antarctic Heard Island. My position in the Nature Conservation Branch (for the past 14 years) is Botanist for the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, where I have responsibility for documenting, protecting and promoting flora conservation values, including Sphagnum peatlands, buttongrass moorlands and Restionaceous mires.
The recent IMCG symposium in South Africa was the first to be held in the southern hemisphere and indicates a concerted move by IMCG to be truly international, expanding from its traditional European base. It was a great opportunity for non-Europeans to discuss and compare peatland management, restoration and research in their respective countries and with those of the long-established European research institutes. Of particular interest to me were the similarities between large-scale peat mining restoration projects in Canada (co-ordinated by Line Rochefort), the Working for Wetlands poverty-relief restoration projects in South Africa (presented by Piet-Louis Grundling) and the post-fire Sphagnum restoration work that we (Geoff Hope, Roger Good and I) are doing in Kosciuszko and Namadgi (alpine) National Parks after the devastating fires of January 2002. Also of interest were the different ways that Europeans described their peatland types and their interpretation of peat profiles from cores, compared to how we in the southern hemisphere might describe them. The presentation by Rudolfo Itturaspe highlighted the opportunities available in peatland research and the urgent need for conservation management of the pristine mires of Argentina.
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the previous Chairman, Jan Sliva, for the excellent job he has done in continuing to raise the profile of IMCG and mire conservation, especially through his work in South Africa. It will be a challenge for me to carry out the duties of this position to the same impressive standard as Jan and previous officeholders.
My aim as the new Chairperson of IMCG is to continue to internationalise the support base of the organisation, while maintaining its strong European base and to foster global links that will enable us to better understand, protect and manage these fascinating ecosystems. I thank everyone for their support to date and look forward to an exciting and productive time ahead.
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