Peatlands and climate change GS: 3 "EMPOWER IAS"

News:

• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations reported that Peatlands can play a crucial role in regulating the global climate by acting as carbon sinks.

 

Report Findings:

• The report recommended countries to restore and manage the Peatland ecosystems as these land are facing degradation.
• Peatlands cover only 3% of Earth's surface. The degradation of land occurs due to drainage, fire, agricultural use, and forestry. It can trigger the release of stored carbon in a few decades.
• It highlighted important case studies from Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Peru in their attempts to map and monitor peatlands.

 

About Peatlands:

• Peatlands contain 30% of the world's soil carbon. 
• These lands are formed due to the accumulation of partially decomposed plant remains over thousands of years under conditions of water-logging. When drained, the lands emit greenhouse gases (GHGs). 
• It contributes up to one gigaton of emissions per year through oxidation. 
• Peatlands are currently facing degradation. This can be controlled by monitoring and mapping. The groundwater level of peatlands should be continuously monitored as it can turn into carbon emission sources.

 

Why are peatlands significant?

• Large amounts of carbon, fixed from the atmosphere into plant tissues through photosynthesis, are locked away in peat soils, representing a valuable global carbon store.
• Peatlands are highly significant to global efforts to combat climate change, as well as wider sustainable development goals.
• The protection and restoration of peatlands are vital in the transition towards a low-carbon and circular economy.

 

1) Better sinks of Carbon

• Damaged peatlands contribute about 10% of greenhouse gas emissions from the land-use sector.
• CO₂ emissions from drained peatlands are estimated at 1.3 gigatonnes of CO₂ This is equivalent to 5.6% of global anthropogenic CO₂ emissions.
• However, at the same time, peatlands are the largest natural terrestrial carbon store. Worldwide, the remaining area of near-natural peatland contains more than 550 gigatonnes of carbon.
• This represented 42% of all soil carbon and exceeds the carbon stored in all other vegetation types, including the world’s forests. This area sequesters 0.37 gigatonnes of CO₂ a year.

 

2) Vital ecosystem services

• By regulating water flows, peatlands help minimize the risk of flooding and drought and prevent seawater intrusion.
• In many parts of the world, peatlands supply food, fibre and other local products that sustain local economies.
• They also preserve important ecological and archaeological information such as pollen records and human artefacts.
• Draining peatlands reduces the quality of drinking water due to pollution from dissolved compounds. Damage to peatlands also results in biodiversity loss.

 

 

 

Other benefits

• Peatlands occur in different climate zones.
• While in a tropical climate, they can occur in mangroves, in Arctic regions, peatlands are dominated by mosses. Some mangrove species are known to develop peatland soils under them.
• Besides climate mitigation, peatlands are important for archaeology, as they maintain pollen, seeds and human remains for a long time in their acidic and water-logged conditions.
• In many countries, pristine peatlands are important for recreation activities. These areas also support livelihood in the form of pastoralism
• The vegetation growing on pristine peatlands provide different kinds of fibres for construction activities and handicrafts.
• Many wetland species produce berries, mushrooms and fruits, often economically important to local communities.
• Peatlands also provide fishing and hunting opportunities. It is also possible to practise paludiculture or wet agriculture on rewetted peatlands.

 

 

Threats: 

• A lack of awareness of the benefits of peatlands means that they have been severely overexploited and damaged as a result of actions including drainage, agricultural conversion, burning and mining for fuel, among others. 

 

 

What can be done?

• Urgent action worldwide is required to protect, sustainably manage and restore peatlands. This involves protecting them from degrading activities such as agricultural conversion and drainage, and restoring the waterlogged conditions required for peat formation to prevent the release of carbon stored in peat soil.
• Global efforts can build on the work of those countries which have taken steps to reverse the decline of peatlands.
• The United Kingdom, for example, is establishing a strategic peatland action plan to support the UK’s climate mitigation plans and international biodiversity targets.
•  In Southeast Asia, the ASEAN Peatland Forests Project (APFP) is supporting the implementation of a multi-stakeholder Peatland Management Strategy to restore peatlands and reduce the rate of degradation and the risk of fire and haze.
• The European Union LIFE funding has assisted over 260 peatland restoration projects, providing practical experience on the feasibility and techniques of peatland restoration.
• Peatland restoration projects have proven to be cost-effective compared to other available carbon reducing technologies. They also have the added bonus of re-establishing the multiple benefits arising from peat-forming ecosystems.
• The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has presented 10 strategic action that can ensure peatlands contribute their full potential to global agreements such as the Paris Agreement on climate change and Sustainable Development Goals. These include:

• assessing the distribution and state of peatlands
• measuring and reporting emissions from peatlands
• protecting and restoring peatlands with targeted financial support
• stimulating market-based mechanisms to support peatlands
• engaging and supporting local communities
• sharing experience and expertise on peatland conservation, restoration and improved management.