A new report coauthored by University of Waterloo professor Maria Strack has provided the most comprehensive assessment of the world's peatlands to date and identified actions governments should take to improve their protection, restoration and sustainable management.
A new report coauthored by University of Waterloo professor Maria Strack has provided the most comprehensive assessment of the world's peatlands to date and identified actions governments should take to improve their protection, restoration and sustainable management.
The report, Global Peatlands Assessment – The State of the World's Peatlands, was released by the United Nations Environment Programme's Global Peatlands Initiative at last week's United Nations Climate Change Conference. The report comprises contributions from hundreds of experts around the world, including Canada Research Chair in Ecosystems and Climate, Strack, who is a coordinating lead author of the report's regional assessment for North America.
Based on the report, if implemented with urgency, peatlands' protection, restoration, and sustainable management offer a huge win for people, climate and nature. Conservation and restoration of tropical peatlands alone can reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 800 Mt CO2e per year, close to two percent of current annual global emissions, at an estimated investment of US$40 billion.
"This is less than 0.05 percent of global GDP in 2021," said Roy Brouwer, executive director of the Water Institute. "Moreover, such action would simultaneously support biodiversity, improve water quality, reduce flood risk, reduce air pollution from peatland fires and enhance the protection of important cultural heritage. The societal and economic benefits are enormous."
Read more at University of Waterloo
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