BALI, Indonesia, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) — Protection and restoration of peatlands are among the most cost- effective options for climate change mitigation, according to a report presented here on Tuesday.
The Assessment on Peatlands, Biodiversity and Climate Change showed that clearance, drainage and fires in peatlands emit more than 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year, equivalent to 10 percent of global emissions from fossil fuels.
Therefore, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) together with the Global Environment Center (GEC) and Wetlands International call for the international community to take urgent action to protect and restore peatlands.
Peatlands are the most efficient terrestrial ecosystems in storing carbon -storing up to 10 times more carbon/hectare than other ecosystems in the same region and twice as much carbon as the biomass of the world’s forests, according to results from the first comprehensive global assessment on the links between peatland degradation and climate change.
Climate change impacts are already visible through the melting of permafrost peatlands and desertification of steppe peatlands. In the future, impacts of climate change on peatlands are predicted to significantly increase. Coastal, tropical and mountain peatlands are all expected to be particularly vulnerable.
The assessment was initiated by the project on Integrated Management of Peatlands for Biodiversity and Climate Change. It was implemented by Wetlands International and the Global Environment Center with the support of UNEP-GEF. The governments of the participating pilot countries (China, Indonesia and Russia) and regions (the ASEAN), as well as the Dutch and Canadian governments and a range of other organizations including APN were also involved in the assessment.
The report was issued on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference which opened here on Dec. 3.