Our conference this year was opened by Stuart Brooks, the IUCN UK Peatland Programme Chair. He talked about the importance of sustainable management of peatlands in the Fens, and explored the conference theme of ‘Beyond Restoration’ which he said “speaks of optimistic change, a reversal of the drying out of the Fens… and the catastrophic loss of the peat.”
UK Strategy summary of progress
Our first session focussed on the UK Peatland Strategy and included a video address from Minister Trudy Harrison, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at DEFRA. Indra Thillainathan, Agriculture and Land Use Analyst at the Climate Change Committee then gave a presentation on UK land use emissions and the importance of peatlands. Finally there was an overview of UK Strategy progress from each of the four devolved UK nations.
How do we meet our peatland ambitions? Funding sustainable peatlands
The second session looked at how we can fund sustainable peatlands to meet our peatland ambitions and was chaired by Rob Stoneman, the IUCN UK Peatland Programme Vice-Chair. First to speak was Gary Goggins, Public Awareness Manager at LIFE IP Wild Atlantic Nature who shared results-based payment scheme lessons from Ireland. Then Caleb Wheeler-Robinson, Senior Associate at Finance Earth, focussed on how we can upscale private finance for peatlands. Finally Renée Kerkvliet-Hermans, Peatland Code Coordinator and Chris Evans, Biogeochemist at UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology looked at the Peatland Code.
You can watch the session below or download the slides.
International perspectives
Our final session of the day focussed on international peatlands and was chaired by Jonny Hughes, CEO of UNEP-WCMC, who also gave a talk focussing on science updates from the international community and the Global Peatland Assessment. Then we heard from Faizal Parish, Director of Global Environment Centre, about progress in protecting peatlands in south-east Asia. Jeans-Jacques Bambuta Boole, Peatland Management Unit Coordinator at DRC Ministry of Environment presented on the importance of peatlands in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Finally, Dianna Kopansky, Global Peatlands Initiative Coordinator at UNEP, discussed international policy developments and gave an overview of international partnerships.
You can see all the recordings from our 2023 conference on our YouTube channel.
