Regional News

News from Indonesia
World’s smallest vertebrate

The smallest known animal with a backbone has been discovered in the peat swamps of Indonesia . It is a fish from the carp family, called Paedocypris progenetica. Mature females are only 7,9mm long, which is 0,1 mm shorter than the Indo-Pacific Goby that held the record for smallest vertebrate before the new species was discovered. The largest known individual of P. progenetica is 10.3 mm.

The newly discovered species inhabits the highly acidic (pH=3) peat swamps of Sumatra. It is transparent and lives in the dark tea-coloured peat swamp waters. Recent research has shown these waters are home to a highly diverse range of species that occur nowhere else.

The peat swamps have been severely damaged by forest fires and are also threatened by logging, urbanisation and agriculture. Several populations of P. progenetica have already been lost.

The fish was first discovered by Maurice Kottelat from Switzerland and Tan Heok Hui from the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research in Singapore in 1996, but it was first formally described and named only recently.

Paedocypris progenetica.

Kottelat, M., Britz, R., Heok Hui, T. & Witte, K-E. (2006). Paedocypris, a new genus of Southeast Asian cyprinid fish with a remarkable sexual dimorphism, comprises the world’s smallest vertebrate. Proc. R. Soc. London B.

Indonesia must ratify anti-haze treaty

The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (THP) was signed in 2002 and came into force in November 2003. Indonesia signed the agreement in 2002, but it will not be legally binding unless Indonesia ratifies it.

Without Indonesia joining as a party, the treaty will lose its intention to prevent and monitor transboundary haze pollution. As Indonesia is the main source of haze pollution, it seems to be reluctant to ratify the treaty.

According to Indonesian law, an international treaty has to be enacted as a law, which requires a long and tedious process of public hearings and meetings at the House of Representatives. The bill on the ratification of the ASEAN Agreement on THP was initially considered as one out of 78 bills the House would debate in 2006, but the legislative body later decided to drop it.

Environmental issues have never been on the main agenda of Indonesia ’s national policy and also the problem of transboundary pollution receives little attention from the decision makers. Indonesia is bogged down by other pressing priorities, such as terrorism, the oil price hike and subsidies, and other economic and social problems.

There is, however, a more fundamental problem as to why the bill is not considered urgent. Apart from the bureaucratic process and lack of infrastructure and budget, there is a general opinion among legislators and other important decision makers that the treaty will bring no clear benefits to Indonesia .

Apparently Indonesia fears that the ratification will have implications. Firstly, it is likely that in the longer term, the treaty will include enforcement and liability clauses. This will require Indonesia to apply more stringent law enforcement. Thus far there has been only one case heard in court for those violating Law No. 23/1997 on environmental management. The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and the Riau provincial administration have sued companies suspected of setting forest and land fires between 2003 and 2004, but all cases were dropped without clear reason.

Secondly, the activities of land/forest utilization involve private operators, whereas the treaty mainly deals with state obligations and not those of the private sector. There will likely be resistance from big timber and palm oil industries and logging concessionaires, who have turned out to be the main source of the latest land/forest fires.

Another important stakeholder to the agreement is the local population, who use traditional slash and burn methods to open land for agricultural purposes. Banning such a practice will adversely affect their economy and may lead to more social unrest.

The zero burning policy was adopted by ASEAN in 1999 to restrict – but not necessarily ban completely – the use of fires in land clearing. It is fair enough if the zero burning policy is applied to big oil palm, timber and rubber plantation companies, while farmers, villagers and small holders may be given the concession to allow them to use fire in a controllable manner.

The pressure from other ASEAN member countries, who suffered from the haze in 1997/1998 and recently in August 2005, does not seem to be effective enough to push Indonesia to act rapidly. The government officials dealing with the issue should have a clear understanding that the haze problem is posing a threat, not only to the environment, but also to the economy of the region and the country.

More sound diplomatic persuasion from other ASEAN member countries is also needed. The role of ASEAN, as the governing body of the treaty is by no means unimportant. ASEAN should consider providing or raising the bulk of the resources for outreach activities. Or, will it need another dry season with fire and haze next year for us to take the necessary measures?

Source: TheJakartaPost.com

Workshop on Vulnerability of Carbon Pools in Tropical Peatlands

The Workshop on Vulnerability of Carbon Pools in Tropical Peatlands was held in Pekanbaru, Riau, Sumatra from 23-26 January 2006. It was attended by 61 participants from 12 countries. It was organised by the Global Carbon Project (GCP), the Global Environment Centre (GEC) and the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). It reviewed the extent of and carbon store in tropical peatlands, land use change and fire, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, future climate scenarios and management options. A field visit to the Kampar Peninsular to assess current peatland plantation management practices was facilitated by APRIL/PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper. The workshop was supported by The Asia Pacific Network for Global Change (APN); the joint project of Wetlands International and GEC on Integrated Management of Peatlands for Biodiversity and Climate Change (funded by UNEP-GEF); and the joint Project of Wildlife Habitat Canada, Wetlands International and GEC on Climate Change Forests and Peatlands in Indonesia (funded by CIDA); GCP and CIFOR.

The workshop noted that peat is one of the world’s most important carbon stores (storing about 30% of global soil carbon) and tropical peatlands are an extremely important component – storing 30% of peatland carbon. The most extensive tropical peatlands are in SE Asia and cover about 30 million ha of which over 20 million ha are in Indonesia and 4 million ha in Riau province.

Tropical peatlands play an extremely important global role for carbon storage and climate moderation as well as providing a range of other benefits such as biodiversity, water management, and livelihood support to local communities. The fundamental component of peatlands is water. As water level decreases in peatlands so does capacity for sequestering and storing carbon.

Current management practices in peatlands combined with climate change and variability are having a major negative impact on peatlands. In the past 10 years about 3 million ha of peatland in SE Asia have been burnt releasing 3-5 billion tonnes of carbon. In addition, the drainage of peat for oil palm and timber and pulpwood plantations as well as other agriculture and unsustainable logging is estimated to have affected more than 6 million ha and released an additional 2 billion tonnes of carbon over the same period. Thus the emission of carbon dioxide from peatlands in SE Asia represents one of the largest single sources of green house gas emissions globally and is equivalent of 10% of the average global fossil fuel emission over the same period. This is accelerating global climate change.

It is recognized that unsustainable practices in management of peatlands in SE Asia is the main cause of  peat fires and associated transboundary smoke haze in SE Asia which causes massive health, social, economic and environmental impacts.

Subsequent El Niño events will increase the likelihood of drought and associated fires will have a major negative impact on peatlands carbon stores and people in the SE Asia region. The next El Niño event is predicted within four years. The predicted changes to climate over the next 50 years as a result of increasing green house gas emissions, including higher temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns combined with land use change and deforestation, will lead to increased degradation of peatlands, increased emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and further acceleration of climate change.

The workshop proposed the following target: All stakeholders (including government, non-government, research, private sector and local communities) should urgently work in partnership to prevent peatland fires and degradation. In addition, promote rehabilitation and sustainable use of peatlands in SE Asia to provide multiple benefits to the people in the region and safeguard the global environment.

The workshop recommended relevant stakeholders to:

Regional and global actions

-                     Expedite the implementation of the ASEAN Peatland Management Strategy and associated National Action Plans. These should be complemented by plans at the provincial and local level in regions with extensive peatlands.

-                     Strengthen policies and institutional arrangements for peatland management and strictly enforce policies and rules for the management and conservation of peatlands.

-                     Stop the further conversion and/or drainage of deep peat and peat domes and maintain and restore the hydrology of peatland systems to prevent fires, minimize GHG emissions, and maintain ecological services.

-                     Improve current forestry, agriculture and plantation management practices to ensure that they contribute to the sustainability of peatlands.

-                     Promote international cooperative studies to assess the role of peatlands in mitigating climate change and the potential future impacts of climate change and land use on the peatland carbon pool.

-                     Undertake an assessment of the vulnerability of peatlands to climate change and extreme events. Effectively disseminate the knowledge generated by the scientific community for use by decision makers and to support the assessment processes and later develop adaptation strategies to guide peatland managers, in particular plantation operators.

-                     Strengthen activities for monitoring changes in the status of tropical peatlands to guide wise management.

Riau Province

-                     Establish a Riau Peatland Management Partnership to bring together key stakeholders to work together to maintain and rehabilitate peatlands and promote sustainable use.

-                     Develop through a multi-stakeholder process, a master plan for the future conservation and sustainable development of the Kampar Peninsular given its importance as one of the largest currently relatively intact tropical peatlands in the world.

-                     Develop integrated management plans for each peatland to maintain the provision of ecosystem functions and services including carbon storage and water supply – as most major peatland ecosystems function as one hydrological unit but are administered by two or more District (Kabupaten) administrations and are managed by a range of agencies.

-                     Incorporate peatlands as a key part of integrated river basin management since peatlands in Riau form the largest stores of freshwater in the province and play a key role in regulating river flow and preventing saline intrusion and that peatland degradation will jeopardise future water supply.

-                     Support community-based initiatives for protection and sustainable use of peatlands in Riau as an incentive to maintain peatlands and associated ecosystem services.

Source: http://www.globalcarbonproject.org/

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News from Iraq :
World Wetlands Day

On 2 February 2006, colleagues in Iraq joined in celebrating World Wetlands Day for the first time. At a meeting organized by the Centre for the Restoration of the Iraqi Marshes of the Ministry of Water Resources, representatives of government agencies, non-government organizations and universities discussed Iraq’s programmes focusing on restoration of the Mesopotamian marshes.

Iraq has stated a strong commitment towards the Ramsar Convention goals presented by its delegation at the Ramsar COP9 in Kampala, Uganda , last November. It is expected that Iraq will be able join the Ramsar Convention in a few months.

The World Wetlands Day meeting was well covered by the media including local and international television. Several high profile government officials attended as well as representatives of the Marsh Arabs from the southern marshes. There were several presentations on the status of marsh restoration programmes.

Source: www.ramsar.org

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News From Russia :
All-russian school “bogs and biosphere”

The Fourth All-Russian School of young scientists “Bogs and Biosphere” under the aegis of the Dokuchaevsky society of soil scientists and with financial support of the Russian Fund of Fundamental Research (05-05-74067) took place in Tomsk from 12-15 September of 2005, organised by Tomsk State Pedagogic University, Tomsk State University, Tomsk Polytechnic University, the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Siberian Scientific Research Institute of Peat.

The aim of the scientific school is to familiarize students, post-graduate students, young lectures and employees of Scientific Research Institutes with the role of peatlands in the biosphere and to point out the need for multi-disciplinary studies of peatland ecosystems.

There were more than 70 persons present from Moscow, Minsk, Tver, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk and especially many young people from Tomsk. It was the first time that representatives from the industry were present.

The fourth school was devoted to the problem of rational nature management on peatlands (modern condition, reconstitution, recultivation and melioration, perspective of use), physical-chemical properties and modern technologies of processing of peatland resources.

There was a one-day excursion to Vasjugan peatland complex (200 km from Tomsk city) where natural and drained sites were visited with different types of bog biogeocoenoses and scientific methods were demonstrated.

All reports are published in “Bogs and biosphere – Materials of the Fourth Scientific School” (300p.).

The Fifth Scientific School will take place in September, 2006 in Tomsk.

For further information: http://www.labtor.tom.ru.

Vasjugan mire (partly) protected!

The first step towards nomination of the Vasjugan mire complex as a Ramsar site has finally been set. On the 10th of March 2006, the Administration of Tomsk Oblast designated an area of 509,045 ha as protected area with “zakaznik” status (IUCN category V). This step is the result of the long-term activity of many people and organizations. The first proposal to develop a specially protected nature area (SPNA) in Vasjugan dates back from the 1950s when Academician Evgeny M. Lavrenko published the long-term plan of SPNA system development in the Soviet Union.

The international community expressed its concern only much later at the end of the 1990s. The unique mire system with a size of 5 million ha and crossing three biogeographical zones had attracted the attention of foreign scientists and nature conservationists. As a result the suggestion was made to nominate the mire as a World Nature Heritage site and as a Ramsar site.

Photo: Elena Lapshina

There is no clear procedure in the Russian Federation for Ramsar nominations, but one rule is obligatory: the area must have the status of a SPNA. The level can be national or local, the main point is that the area is protected by national legislation, not only by international conventions like Ramsar. This condition was somewhat difficult to meet as the late 1990s and the first years of the 21st century brought rapid developments. Vasjugan had attracted the interests of land users, especially the oil industry.

A number of grants, including a GPI project, supported the activities of a group of experts from the Tomsk administration. Wetlands International Russia Programme supported from different sources, including the GEF/UNEP Peatlands, Biodiversity and Climate Change Project, the development of a wise use approach in Vasjugan.

What has been achieved by the expert group from Tomsk, the protection of 10% of the Vasjugan mire complex, should be continued in the Novosibirsk and Omsk provinces. Only in that way we have the chance to nominate an area that is large enough to do justice to the special character of the world’s largest mire.

For more information, surf to:

www.peatlands.ru/?file=news.php&page=358

Tatiana Minayeva based on

information from Natalia Semenova (Tomsk)

New international station in W.-Siberia

On 27.01.06 the government of Khanty-Mansiysk Region has granted 75,2 Mln Rubel (2,2 Mln Euro) for equipping an international 'Center of Environmental Dynamics und Global Climate Change' and an International Field Research Station at Yugra State University (Khanty-Mansiysk).

A beautiful result of longstanding efforts of our Main Board member Elena Lapshina that will lead to an intensification of international peatland research in West-Siberia, one of the most important peatland areas of the world.  

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News from Ukraine :
Danube Delta

Sparked by major development projects in the Danube Delta (such as the oil terminal in Gjurgjurlesti, or the opening of the Bystre mouth of the Danube for deep water navigation, cf. www.ramsar.org/ram/ram_rpt_53e_update.htm ), an ad hoc group of international organizations with an interest in the Danube Delta was established during a meeting at UNEP’s Regional Office for Europe in September 2004 (including the Ramsar Secretariat, UNESCO, the Danube Commission ICPDR, European Commission, Council of Europe, UNECE Aarhus and Espoo Convention Secretariats, WWF, IUCN, Wetlands International and others).

Ukraine approached this group in early 2005, requesting its support for the organization of an international conference on the wider issues of conservation and sustainable development in the Danube Delta. This triggered a fruitful cooperation of the international group with the Ukrainian, and also the Romanian and Moldovan authorities, in preparation of an international conference, held 27-28 February 2006 in Odesa ( Ukraine ). Preparatory meetings in Kyiv (March 2005) and Vienna (December 2005) established the agenda of the international conference and concluded that this should be preceded by three national workshops, held early in 2006 in Tulcea (Romania), Chisinau (Republic of Moldova) and Odesa (Ukraine), to elaborate visions for sustainable development and mechanisms for transboundary cooperation in the Danube Delta.

The international conference was convened by the Government of Ukraine in cooperation with the Governments of Romania and the Republic of Moldova, under the auspices of the Danube Commission (ICPDR), and with financial support of UNESCO and the European Commission. About a hundred specialists, officials from the Foreign Affairs and Environment Ministries of the three countries, international governmental and non-governmental organizations, scientific experts, locally elected people and stakeholders from the Danube Delta region participated in the two-day conference. In plenary sessions and four smaller working groups, they discussed the current state of the Danube Delta and its conservation and sustainable development.

The conference concluded that, as the Danube Delta forms a culturally and geographically unique region, regional development has to be planned and undertaken at an ecosystem scale in a sustainable way, taking into account ecological limitations and sensitivities, based on a common vision and cooperation among the three countries sharing the area: the Republic of Moldova, Romania and Ukraine .

The international conference was a successful event and follow-ups are planned. With this conference, the elaboration of a shared vision for sustainable development and conservation of the Danube Delta has been started.

Tobias Salathé

www.ramsar.org

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News from Belarus
Major peatland restoration projects

Two major UNDP-GEF projects related to the restoration of peatlands in Belarus have recently been granted.

The Peatlands Project is a US$3.2 Million medium-sized project (UNDP-GEF, the Belarus Committee of Forestry, the local Belarus bird organisation APB and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds RSPB) that will be implemented over the next 4-5 years. It aims to restore 17 fen and raised bogs sites covering approximately 42,000ha. 

The Government of Belarus has indicated that it would be interested in considering extending this project to cover an estimated 600,000ha of fens and mires across Belarus . This would be the single largest wetland restoration project in the whole of Europe. Such large-scale wetland restoration projects could have important financial consequences as huge amounts of stored CO₂ will be prevented from being released.

The Polesie Project is a US$11 Million project (UNDP-GEF, Ministry of Environment, APB and RSPB) aiming at integrating sustainable land (agricultural, forestry) and water (hydrology of the rivers and water bodies) use into the long-term management of the Pripyat floodplain. The project (entitled “catalyzing sustainability of the wetland protected area system in Belarusian Polesie through increased management efficiency and realigned land use practises”) in essence entails the mainstreaming of biodiversity into wetland use management.

The Ministry of Environment of Belarus sees these projects as a direct contribution to its new Strategy for Sustainable Management which focuses on the wise use of natural resources with the intention of introducing direct benefits to local communities via economic activities including commercial enterprises.

For more information contact Zbig.Karpowicz: Zbig.Karpowicz@rspb.org.uk

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News from Poland/Germany:
Conserving Aquatic Warbler

OTOP-BirdLife Poland together with an international partnership of five NGOs and two national parks (from Poland , Germany , and UK ) has submitted a LIFE Nature application to the EU with the title “Conserving Acrocephalus paludicola in Poland and Germany ”. This project application has been successful. The project with a duration of 5 years (until 2010) and an overall budget of € 5.4 Million is one of the largest and most comprehensive species conservation projects ever done in Poland .

Aquatic warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola) is the rarest, and the only globally threatened passerine bird (IUCN status “vulnerable”), found in mainland Europe, with a very small world population of only 12-20,500 pairs. Once widespread and numerous on fen mires and wet meadows, this habitat specialist has disappeared from most of its former key range in northern Germany and Poland due to habitat degradation. With its habitats nowadays dependent on human land use (traditional agriculture), and being extremely susceptible to changes in land use, it is now effectively a conservation dependent species. The LIFE “Aquatic warbler” project is focusing on the acutely threatened and genetically distinct population along the German-Polish border (“Pomerania”) and the largest Polish population in the Biebrza wetlands.

The project aims to stabilise the population of aquatic warbler in key areas of its range in Poland (8 sites) and Germany (1 site) by simultaneously improving and increasing the habitat. In the 9 project sites, management plans for all potential habitats of the species (42,000ha), will be set up. About 3000ha will be effectively managed, thereby improving c.1500ha of existing aquatic warbler habitat and recreating c.1500ha of new potential habitat in Pomerania and in the Biebrza area. Within the managed area at Biebrza, the population is expected to increase by 15%, with a minimum of 300ha newly occupied by aquatic warbler by the end of the project. In Pomerania, the number of occupied breeding sites will rise from 6 to 7 by this time. Restoration and management practices will be used for best practice guidance for future work in sites in the same area and other areas in the EU and beyond.

For more information contact Przemek Nawrocki: przemeknawrocki2002@yahoo.ca

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News from Ireland :
Is Protection for Bogs Just Lip-Service?

Many important Irish peatland sites are being destroyed although technically they are “protected” under either EU or national legislation. In some cases the damage to the sites has been ongoing for a number of years and yet the relevant authorities seem to be dragging their heels on the issue. The Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) is currently conducting a “Peatlands under Threat Campaign” in order to tackle the issue and is calling for repair of the damage inflicted on the bogs.

Three sites in particular have been seriously damaged. At Girley Bog Natural Heritage Area (NHA) in County Meath a series of deep drains were inserted into the protected bog affecting an area of 100 acres in December 2005. These drains are seriously affecting the hydrology of the site. Not only did the developers responsible break the law under the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000 but they have also breached planning laws. The 100 acres of drainage exceeds the threshold for which planning permission is required (25 acres) and the threshold for which an Environmental Impact Statement is required (74 acres). This selfish disregard for the law and for our natural heritage should not be tolerated by society.

It is imperative, not only that the damage at Girley Bog is reversed, but also that the person responsible is obliged to pay the price for breaking the law – otherwise a message is being sent out that our natural heritage is not valuable enough to fight for. IPCC has highlighted the urgency of this case to both Meath County Council and the National Parks and Wildlife Service – still nothing has occurred to assure IPCC that restoration of the site will occur. The case at Girley is disturbingly similar to a case in Co. Tipperary where extensive drainage of another NHA (Nore Valley Bogs) occurred illegally involving an area of 370 acres. This damage occurred over two years ago and still nothing has been done to either restore the damage or to bring the developer responsible to justice. Will the same thing happen to Girley Bog? Will the same thing happen to more of our so-called “protected” sites? Girley Bog is also a well-known tourist attraction and educational facility in the county. This development will seriously curtail any enjoyment for visitors to the bog in 2006.

Ballynafagh Bog Special Area of Conservation (SAC) in County Kildare has been utilised by a commercial peat developer for the past few years. This is an illegal activity on any SAC.

The IPCC “Peatlands Under Threat Campaign” aims to undertake a full review of the status of every protected peatland in the country and to use this information to build and publish a strategic action plan to help achieve real protection for our peatlands in the years ahead.

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News from the EU:
Dear President Borrell,

“The European Habitats Forum (EHF) is a group of 14 NGOs working to influence and support the development and implementation of EU biodiversity policy, particularly the Birds and Habitats Directives and Natura 2000 network. The group was established to enable nature conservation organisations to work with the EU institutions in a co-ordinated way and includes the largest and most influential organisations working on these issues, such as WWF, BirdLife International, IUCN and EEB.

We were very pleased to meet with you in November 2004 when we donated a pot of plants to the European Parliament, in cooperation with Dorette Corbey MEP, and appreciated the support you expressed for our work. Our aim of donating the plant pot was that it would be looked after by the Parliamentarians, to represent their responsibility for looking after European nature, especially the Natura 2000 network.

Unfortunately, we are sad to report that the plants did not survive for long and we have since discovered that they were replaced with new plants. Our concern is that this may soon reflect a failure of the EU to live up to its responsibility to look after the Natura 2000 network. We are particularly concerned that the Council agreement on the Financial Perspectives does not include adequate co-financing to establish and manage the Natura 2000 network. The Rural Development budget has decreased dramatically leaving little space for new measures such as payments for Natura 2000 and currently the LIFE+ Regulation reflects less than 0.2% of the EU’s budget. This is despite the fact that protecting the environment is an issue of great concern to many EU citizens, for example, the 2005 Eurobarometer shows that nine out of ten Europeans say that decision-makers should pay as much attention to environmental considerations as to economic and social factors when taking decisions.

We would like to discuss this further with you, in particular, the role of the European Parliament in the ongoing discussions regarding the Financial Perspectives Trialogue. We would be grateful if you would be available to meet briefly with a small delegation of our members for this purpose. I hope that you are agreeable to this proposal and look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Arjan Berkhuysen

Chair of the European Habitats Forum”

Ecolabel

Once more, EPAGMA (the European Peat and Growing Media Association) has addressed the EU Ecolabel board in their relentless lobby to allow for the inclusion of peat in ecolabelled growing media.

The statement is a sad one-sided account filled with half-truths and omissions. The EPAGMA letter follows:

“A majority of the Competent Bodies (in number, not in weighted votes) that replied to the questionnaire regarding the admission of a certain percentage of peat in eco-labelled growing media indicated that they are in favour of the inclusion of peat, and we believe that they have very good reasons to do so. Nevertheless, the Ad Hoc Working Group conclusions recommend that the exclusion of peat be continued and that the eco-label criteria not be revised on this issue.

“EPAGMA expresses its deep regret at this result and would like to emphasize that the exclusion of peat is very likely to lead to a zero response to the European Eco-label by growing rnedia producers throughout the European Union, thus depriving this eco-label of its sense. Peat-free growing media are virtually inexistent on the market, and those that have been placed on the market are negligible in quantity and often disappear from the market due to lack of consumption and bad performance.

“However, the total volume of growing media consumed in the EU (hobby and professional) is estimated to be some 20 million m³ annually. If the eco-label was taken up as a desirable and viable certification scheme by the industry, this could lead to a major increase in the use and acceptance of the EU flower scheme in a very large market.

“As you surely know, peat has unique characteristics making it indispensable for horticultural use in growing media and the hobby market. In addition, EPAGMA is convinced that the inclusion of peat in the eco-label criteria would support and increase the use of treated biowaste and other processed organic wastes and by-products. Peat is the only product which can dilute the negative characteristics of treated biowaste and related products on a large scale in the long term.

“EPAGMA considers that the current eco-label criteria are not market-oriented, are not based on the most recent and best science and do not ensure good product performance. Therefore they do not encourage manufacturers to apply for the eco-label, do not raise consumer awareness of the use of treated biowaste and related products, and do not encourage buyers to purchase labelled soil improvers and growing media.

“Peat should be more openly accepted and appreciated as the only widely available high-quality material that can act as a vehicle to directly contribute to the stronger use of composted biowaste and other materials in growing media. In the sense of eco-labelling there is probably no better “wise use“ of peat than using it in combination with recyclecl materials”

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds replies:

“The RSPB is disappointed in the one-sided statement from EPAGMA about the exclusion of peat from the Ecolabel for growing media and soil improvers. The RSPB urges for the continued exclusion of peat from the Ecolabel.

In particular the RSPB notes that:

-                     the EPAGMA statement makes no reference to any environmental issues related to the use of peat, either of habitat destruction or the release of carbon dioxide from an important long-term carbon store

-                     peat is widely regarded as a short term diluent for green waste, not a long-term one

-                     peat free products are available, viable and work well for almost all horticultural peat use; and their wider use is being held back by the market influence of the peat producers

-                     much of the most recent science and research in growing media is directed towards peat substitution and replacement, and not peat continuation

-                     the UK Government has a target for 90% of the materials for growing media and soil improvers to be of non-peat by 2010 and is making considerable progress towards this

The RSPB is disappointed by EPAGMA’'s decision not to encourage its members to apply for the Ecolabel for those products that do meet the criteria; and is confident that the Ecolabel can rise above this tactic and so will continue to promote products with envrionemental benefits to consumers.”

See also IMCG Newsletters 2005/1 and 2005/4.

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News from Canada :
Peat fuel for Ontario?

The Canada province of Ontario is currently looking into using peat for energy purposes. Canada ’s peatlands cover approximately 130 million hectares and Northern Ontario’s vast bogs alone are said to hold the energy equivalent of 72 billion barrels of oil. Ontario is under pressure to replace its nuclear plants, currently providing almost half the province’s electricity, and there are plans to close four coal-fired generating plants due to pollution concerns. In total this will eliminate about 6,500MWe of power.

Peat fuel has only 10% of the sulphur content of coal, virtually no mercury and produces less ash waste and dust emissions. This and the fact that peat is cheaper than oil and gas and can be used in the existing coal-fired power plants, makes the use of peat for energy an interesting option. Most of the power plants could then continue running for decades with regular maintenance.

Peat fuel is roughly 30 per cent cheaper to produce than the 20 million tonnes of coal the province annually uses and much less expensive than natural gas and oil.

Furthermore, a peat fuel industry in northwestern Ontario would bring much needed jobs to a depressed part of the province.

The idea is to cut the peat wet, to lessen environmental impacts. When carried out on smaller parcels of land, wet extraction allows for easier management of water inflow and outflow and minimises negative effects on nearby lakes and drainage systems. Peat would then be mechanically dewatered before thermal upgrading. Wet extraction also allows quicker start-up of restoration, which is obligatory in Ontario.

Besides these economic and practical arguments, the plan is accompanied by the usual nonsense statements.

First there is the “restoration” of cut over peatlands into “productive” wetlands, without giving much of an idea of what “productive” means in terms of benefits (functions) lost and gained.

As project manager Wayne McLellan puts it: “In Quebec and New Brunswick, the Canadian horticultural peat industry is globally recognized for their innovative restoration techniques. In Ireland and Finland harvested bogs have been restored to productive wetlands, or reforested. Here in the northwest, we plan to create productive wetlands. After excavation, a small percentage of the bog will have a predetermined area of standing water where fishing, nesting spots for wildfowl, and wild rice can be provided.” He continues, “We have a very sound reclamation plan that is feasible, and we have the scientific back-up to show how it can be done. These bogs can be harvested and restored without damaging the boreal forest ecosystem.” This of course hardly addresses the specific benefits of peatlands vs. those of the “restored” wetlands.

Then there is the apparent lie that peat is a renewable energy source. On any viable economic time scale it clearly is not. To mask this sustainability lie, energy peat is referred to as “green”, as a “biofuel”. This of course opens the door to include peat in all kinds of interesting state subsidised sustainable energy projects.

Resourceful argumentation points out that the carbon released during peat combustion was only recently taken from the atmosphere as opposed to fossil fuel carbon – coal, oil and natural gas – that was removed millions of years ago. Indeed most Canada ’s peatlands are still actively sequestering carbon. But last year’s carbon will be released together with the carbon stored thousands of years ago, which can hardly be called “recent”.

Efforts to re-grow peat on a large scale have thus far not been successful. The whole “renewability” argument does not apply to peat. The vast stores of carbon destroyed would need thousands of years to regenerate. It would therefore be much more practical to give up on addressing peat as a biofuel. Using biofuels does not contribute to greenhouse-gas emissions and global warming. Peat combustion does.

A most obnoxious argument used is that in their natural state many peatlands generate methane gas, which is much more detrimental to the environment than CO₂. Extracting peat fuel from peatlands followed by “restoration” or reforestation would eliminate most methane gas emissions and create net carbon sinks. Which is utter nonsense to begin with as the amount of carbon stored in a peatland easily surpasses the amount stored in fishponds or forest. Furthermore, it would be perverse to destroy nature to meet Kyoto targets. Not only because it would go against the idea of mitigating human induced (and not natural) carbon releases, but also because there is still much uncertainty with respect to the processes underlying greenhouse gas emissions as is illustrated by the recent finding that living vegetation also emits considerable amounts of methane.

There may be sensible arguments to locally or regionally use peat as a source of energy. Sadly such sensible arguments are typically accompanied by untruths and misrepresentations.

JC

(source material: www.laurentian.ca/INORD)

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News from South Africa :
Wetlands, Water and Livelyhoods

The workshop on Wetlands, Water and Livelihoods (30 January – 2 February 2006) brought together a range of experience from 30 countries and included representatives from national and regional governments, non-governmental organizations, aid organizations, and research institutions. It follows the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands Conference of Parties in November 2005, in which over 150 countries committed to take action on wetlands and poverty reduction according to Resolution 14.

Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems on earth and benefit people by providing income, food security, health and nutrition, water storage and purification, flood and drought mitigation, as well as supporting a range of socio-cultural values. Yet, wetlands are decreasing and degrading more rapidly than any other ecosystem on earth, plunging millions of vulnerable people into poverty and making the existing poor destitute. Both poverty and wetland degradation are increased by inequitable investments in misdirected economic development schemes. This trend must be reversed. The workshop participants identified viable opportunities for reducing poverty through new approaches to wetland management, while sustaining the resource for future generations.

The participants acknowledged that while conservation and poverty reduction must be seen as complementary objectives, tradeoffs may be necessary. Countries need to take into account the full value of wetlands services for people when making development decisions, and use catchment and transboundary approaches for water management.

The workshop participants identified several key areas for action:

-                     Strengthen collaboration between conservation and development organizations and between governments, NGOs and the private sector.

-                     Mainstream the interrelationship between wetlands and livelihoods into international and national policies, plans and strategies. For example, define specific wetland targets and indicators that link Millenium Development Goal MDG 1 on poverty and hunger and MDG 7 on environmental sustainability; implement the environmental action plan of the New Economic Partnership for African Development (NEPAD); and scale up lessons from community-based projects to influence policy and planning processes.

-                     Empower socially and economically excluded stakeholders to take active roles in and derive benefits from managing wetland resources. For example, define tenure and water rights; use more transparent and community-based resource development and allocation; and recognize the different needs, access to resources and contributions of women, men and youth.

-                     Develop innovative finance mechanisms. For example, small-scale schemes that support alternative livelihoods as incentives for sustainable wetland management.

-                     Build capacity for a more integrated approach to wetland and water management and poverty reduction. For example, create opportunities for learning outside of formal structures, with an emphasis on district and local levels; build on and apply local and traditional knowledge.

The Wetlands and Poverty Reduction Project and the Wetlands and Livelihoods Working Group of Wetlands International are taking action on these opportunities in Africa, South-East Asia and Latin America through innovative partnerships. Collaboration with others is welcomed.

For more information: www.wetlands.org