Articles

From lowland swamps dominated by tall palms to the treeless cushion bogs of the high Andes, Latin America and the Caribbean are home to a huge range of peatlands. But relatively little is known about them – making conservation difficult.

Few peatlands in Europe are located within protected areas, and even there, they are not always protected adequately. National agricultural policies provide little or no support for the development of sustainable peatland-management practices.

One-third of the world’s peatlands are in North America. Those landscapes close to urban areas have suffered severe degradation, and urgent repair work is needed to restore them. In the north of the continent, peatlands are increasingly threatened by the oil and mining industries.

People have been using peat for heat since the Bronze Age. They still do so today in countries like Finland, Belarus and Rwanda. This is not sustainable – but there are new, climate-friendly ideas for how peatlands can help generate heat and power.

Reeds are used to make thatch for roofs, and grass fibres are used to make furniture: paludiculture combines peatland conservation with agriculture. Strong political support is needed to give this sustainable way of using rewetted peatlands a chance of success.

The consumption and production of commodities such as timber are major drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. They also cause peatland degradation on a grand scale.

Europe is rich in peat landscapes, which differ widely according to the region and climate. But one thing that the European Union’s programmes to protect peatlands have in common is that they are not very effective.

Drainage pipes and ditches are still being used to drain peatlands. Rewetting is urgently needed to protect both the climate and biodiversity. But how does this work – and what do we have to consider?

Three percent of the world’s peatlands have been destroyed for forestry purposes, releasing large quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Drained peat soils are the scene of devastating fires that are used to clear land.