FAO and Wetlands International have launched the global 'Organic soils and peatland climate change mitigation initiative'. The Initiative is an informal network of organizations and people committed to reducing emissions from peatlands and safeguarding the other vital ecosystem setvices peatlands provide.
Peatlands store tremendous amounts of carbon. However, when they are drained and used - mainly for agriculture, grazing and forestry - peatlands become significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Peatland drainage and peat fires are responsible for almost one-quarter of carbon emissions from the land use sector.
To address this situtation FAO and Wetlands International have launched the global 'Organic soils and peatland climate change mitigation initiative'. The Initiative is an informal network of organizations and people committed to reducing emissions from peatlands and safeguarding the other vital ecosystem setvices peatlands provide. Institutions currently invovled in the initiative include FAO, Wetlands International, Greifswald University, IUCN UK, Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases, the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Global Environment Centre (GEC), the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the University of Helsinki.
The Initiative will be launched on 17 May in Bonn Germany at a side event at the thirty-sixth session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) held during the United Nations Framework Convention Climate Change Conference. Listed below are the presentations made at the launch of the 'Organic Soils and Peatlands Climate Change Mitigation Inititative'
The IUCN UK Peatland Programme has particiapted closely and encouraged this Initiative and we look forward to future cooperation with the project.
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