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Peatlands play a critical role in carbon sequestration, biodiversity preservation, and mitigating climate change impacts. However, their conservation and restoration often demand innovative approaches and collaborative efforts. Private sector involvement in financing peatland conservation and restoration is essential to enable large-scale climate action both for mitigation and adaptation gains.

Exploring innovative financing models is crucial, benefiting both the environment and the livelihoods of communities residing in and around peatland areas. It is imperative, however, that financing serves the interests and well-being of these communities while ensuring the health of the peatland ecosystem upon which they depend. While financing is essential, it must be coupled with active engagement and sustainable practices to truly make a difference in addressing the climate and nature crises.

This session promises to be informative and interactive with a lively discussion on innovative financing for peatland protection, conservation, and restoration. There will be a strong emphasis on the importance of engaging local communities to identify innovation, what works best on the ground and to maximize benefit sharing and co-leadership for conservation and restoration projects and plans.

This talk-show session will address challenges and opportunities in tropical peatland conservation and water resource management, presenting key perspectives and lesson learned for concrete steps integrated and strategies that provide socio-economic benefits to communities, while contributing to the national and global commitments. It will also highlight the objectives of the Climate Champion’s Breakthroughs and complementary Freshwater Challenge and how peatland restoration and water management are an integral part of achieving them. The session will conclude with recommendations to promote cooperation and partnerships across the land and water next for healthy peatland ecosystems.

Tropical peatlands are among the Earth’s most valuable ecosystems in the fight against climate change. They store vast amounts of carbon in the form of organic matter that has accumulated over thousands of years. These peatlands cover extensive areas in countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Amazon Basin, making their conservation essential for mitigating the global climate crisis.

To protect these ecosystems and gauge their carbon storage potential, cutting-edge carbon measurement techniques are indispensable. Tools such as remote sensing, ground-based measurements such as ground water level (GWL), and comprehensive carbon accounting systems are vital for deciphering carbon dynamics in tropical peatlands. They guide conservation endeavours and enable informed decision-making for restoration projects.

This side event aims to promote collaboration and provide participants with insights into the latest carbon measurement technologies and strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands. Participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences.

A panel discussion featuring experts and practitioners in peatland conservation, carbon measurement, and policy development will be held. The discussion will cover topics such as methodology for calculating GHG from ground water level, best practices, and policy development.

In 2017 and 2021, the COP requested the UN Climate Change secretariat to explore ways and means to assist developing country Parties in assessing their climate finance needs and priorities, in a country-driven manner and to translate these needs into action (Long-term finance decision 6/CP.23, para 10; Long-term finance decision 4/CP.26, para 22). The secretariat was also requested by the CDM Executive Board to facilitate the financing of projects and use of the CDM by international finance institutions, as requested by the CMP (3/CMP.1, Annex, para B 4(d), para C 5(i); 6/CMP.11, para 8; 12/CMA.1). In response to these mandates the UN Climate Change secretariat launched the Needs-based Finance (NBF) project with the objective of facilitating access and mobilization of climate finance for the implementation of priority mitigation and adaptation projects to address the needs identified by developing countries. Specifically, the project aims to empower developing countries to assess their climate finance requirements, set their priorities through the development of a strategy, and translate these needs into actionable solutions by creating a project pipeline and mobilizing climate finance. The NBF project is being implemented as regional projects and national projects in over 96 countries.

Given the strategic opportunity that Asia-Pacific Climate Week provides to further support developing countries access climate finance, a side event is being organized to raise awareness about the NBF project among stakeholders and to promote knowledge exchange on lessons learned and suggestions for improvement on the NBF projects. It will showcase how NBF participants have benefited from the project and also seek inputs as to how NBF projects can better support countries’ ambition. Additionally, a consultation session for the draft project ideas will be conducted to advance the project ideas from Southeast Asia and LDC Asia.

Join the GRA Peatland Management Network for two presentations by global experts on measuring GHG balance of peatlands followed by time for Q&A.

Speakers: - Prof. Dr. Fahmuddin Agus, Indonesia - Dr. Junbin Zhao, Norway

Register here.

The 17th International Peat Congress (IPC 2024) will be held in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, China from August 4th to 9th, 2024. The Congress is hosted by the International Peatland Society and organized by Northeast Normal University, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Taizhou University, China Humic Acid Industry Association and Taizhou Peat Research and Development Center.

The proposed theme of the Congress is "Peatlands in a Changing World". The Congress aims to provide a platform for peatland scientists, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders to stimulate the exchanges of knowledge, best practices and new ideas about multiple functions and biodiversity conservation of peatlands from a global perspective, advocate responsible use of peat and peatland resources, and recognize the values of peatlands in economic, environmental and social aspects from a sustainable perspective in a changing world.

Uganda Water and Environment Week (UWEWK) is a weeklong event that is organized annually by Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) through the Water Resources Institute (WRI). Since its inception in 2018, the event seeks to contribute towards the attainment of Sustainable Socio-economic Transformation in achieving Ugandan National Development Plan and vision.  It provides an interface between sector actors and other stakeholders for knowledge exchange, dialoguing, learning for improvement of Uganda’s water and environment resources.

Discover a new way of thinking about peatland restoration. Join us for a webinar on work to develop new WETMECs for upland peat habitats.

Supported by the Enviornment Agaency, join Consultant Ecologist, Ros Tratt, as she introduces work to date to develop new Eco-hydrological Guidelines for Blanket Bog. The webinar will cover field work methodologies, the proposed WETMECS for upland peatland habitats and application to upland peat restoration.

From agreement to action: build back biodiversity

As the global community is called to re-examine our relationship to the natural world, one thing is certain: despite all our technological advances we are completely dependent on healthy and vibrant ecosystems for our water, food, medicines, clothes, fuel, shelter and energy, just to name a few.

This involves respecting, protecting, and repairing our biological wealth.

Undoubtedly, this year is special in terms of biodiversity conservation. We now have a renewed sense of hope with the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a historic agreement signed in December 2022 that sets goals and concrete measures to stop and reverse the loss of nature by 2050.

That is why the theme of the International Day for Biological Diversity is from agreement to action: build back biodiversity. The slogan promotes the idea that, now that we have an action plan agreed upon at a global level, we must implement all the measures that the agreement contemplates before 2030. Only in this way will we be able to obtain protected and sustainable biological diversity by 2050. That is the main message from the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the key international instrument for sustainable development.

World Peatlands Day is celebrated on the 2nd of June each year.

• Launched by the International Peatland Society (IPS) in autumn 2019.
• Correlates with the date when the draft constitution of the IPS was adopted at an international symposium in Aberdeen in 1967.
• Allows access not only to temperate and tropical, but also boreal peatlands.
• Great chance for outdoor activities on pristine bogs and production areas which are possibly under a snow cover or not accessible in winter.
• Includes aspects of biodiversity, climate, horticulture and many other topics.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will host World Environment Day 2024 with a focus on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience.

World Environment Day, marked annually on 5 June, was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972. Over the past five decades, the Day has grown to be one of the largest global platforms for environmental outreach. Tens of millions of people participate online and through in-person activities, events and actions around the world.

See the announcement here: Saudi Arabia to host World Environment Day 2024 with a focus on land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience (unep.org)