Lustrous bog-moss (Sphagnum subnitens). Credit Robert Goodison
Peatland Code Governance
The Peatland Code governance structure is made up of a Technical Advisory Board (TAB) and Executive Board (EB) which each have terms of references in place to confirm appointment, membership, and frequency of meetings. Members are required to declare any conflict of interest when joining which is then reviewed annually as part of the IUCN UK Peatland Programme conflict of interest policy. To ensure transparency, membership and meeting minutes are published and can be viewed on the TAB and EB webpages.
How decisions are made
All proposed new versions, updates to methodology clarifications or process changes under the Peatland Code are submitted to the Technical Advisory Board (TAB) for consideration. Following advice from the TAB, recommendations are then presented to the Executive Board (EB) for comment and final decision. Decisions are made by majority vote; in the event of a split decision, the EB Chair holds the casting vote. For more information see our Peatland Code Review Procedure.
The Peatland Code team prepares discussion papers setting out specific questions or requested outputs from Working Groups for review by TAB members. These papers are circulated by the Secretariat to TAB members two weeks in advance of TAB meetings and are also shared with members of the Market and Investment Forum for feedback. Any feedback received is anonymised and shared with TAB members. All questions, actions, advice, and feedback are recorded internally in the decision‑making log.
Following approval by the EB, methodology changes and version updates are subject to a 30‑day public consultation period. Further details are available our Public Consultation page.
Peatland Code Working Groups
As part of the Peatland Code’s commitment to continuous improvement, we are launching a new series of Peatland Code Working Groups. This to allow for a wide range of experts to advise on specific topics to ensure the Peatland Code remains accessible and robust. The outputs of these working groups will be presented to the Peatland Code Technical Advisory Board and the Executive Board for decision on implementation of the outputs of the working groups.
The first working group will focus on Verification and improving the pre-verification survey methodology, including exploring the optional use of drones in the verification process.
Meetings scheduled:
- Thursday 13th November 9:30 - 11:am
- Wednesday 26th November 12:30-2pm
- Wednesday 10th December 2:00-3:30pm
Grievances and appeals
The IUCN UK PP is committed to ensure that the grievance and appeal process is as transparent and fair as possible.
For information on how to make a grievance or appeal a recent grievance see here.
