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Peatlands and REDD Wetlands International, Susanna Tol, COP16, Cancun, 2 Dec 2010

Peatlands and REDD Wetlands International, Susanna Tol, COP16, Cancun, 2 Dec 2010. The peat bog is rain water fed. Tropical peat swamp forest. River. River. Organic carbon. < 1m. > 3m. What are peatlands?. Peat:

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Peatlands and REDD Wetlands International, Susanna Tol, COP16, Cancun, 2 Dec 2010

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  1. Peatlands and REDD Wetlands International, Susanna Tol, COP16, Cancun, 2 Dec 2010

  2. The peat bog is rain water fed Tropical peat swamp forest River River Organic carbon < 1m > 3m What are peatlands? Peat: Organic matter accumulated over thousands of years, storing concentrated carbon in thick layers Mineral Soil Peat dome

  3. Peat, carbon and climate change • Globally peatlands store 550 Giga ton (Gt) Carbon • Equivalent to 30% of terrestrial carbon • twice the carbon stored in forest biomass • 75% of all carbon in the atmosphere • Global emissions 2 Gt CO2 / yr, ~6% of global CO2 emissions. Peatlands store large amounts of carbon Peatland degradation leads to GHG emissions which contribute to global warming

  4. Drainage tropics: emissions of up to 100 t CO2-eq ha-1 y-1…that continue for many decades Kalimantan, Indonesia

  5. SE Asian peatland emissions disproportionately high Peat Area Emissions from peat in Indonesia: ~500 Mt from drainage ~400 Mt from peat fires 6% of global peat area = 50-60% of global peat emissions SE Asia Russia N America CO2 Emissions Indonesia

  6. Peatland problems • Deforestation • Degradation • Drainage • Fires

  7. Tropical peat forest deforestation • Peatland deforestation: • since 2000: 1.5%/yr: twice the rate for non-peatlands • currently 45% deforested • 96% degraded • Peat forest conservation • < 5% of total peatland area

  8. Logging and drainage 1 • Channels used to transport equipment and logs

  9. Logging and drainage 2 A total of about 13 million ha of SE Asian peat swamps have been drained for agriculture and plantations Even when the rate of peatland conversion decreases, annual peatland emissions will continue to increase This makes it a totally different ball game from forests Stopping the rate of conversion is not enough. To decrease peatland emissions eco-hydrological restoration (rewetting & replanting) is necessary

  10. Peat drainage increases the risk of fires Between 1997 and 2006: over 60,000 fires in peat swamp areas on Borneo in 3 out of 10 years (1997, 1998, 2002) Most affected were deforested and drained peatlands

  11. Rewetting CO2 N2O CH4

  12. What if current ignorance continues No incentive mechanism to address these emissions

  13. Peat in REDD • Include all 5 carbon pools (IPCC 2006) • Include protection of remaining undrained areas and restoration of degraded peat swamp forests (rewetting/revegetation) • Also include peat forests that have no crown cover anymore (deforested) from past deforestation • Exclude drained plantations from support • Similar mechanism needed for non-forest peatlands

  14. Added value Climate change mitigation Biodiversity conservation Poverty reduction Reduced land degradation A WIN4all

  15. Further reading… THANK YOU Downloadable from www.wetlands.org/peatclimate and www.imcg.net More information: www.wetlands.or/peatclimate www.wetlands.org/cancun

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