About WI’s peat land programme By Marcel Silvius

Peat: organic matter accumulated over thousands of years Lowland tropical forest peat bogs are dome-shaped Peat is accumulated above ground water levels A peat bog is rain water fed River < 1m > 3m Peat swamp forest Organic matter Mineral Soil This picture shows the location of a peat dome in the flood plain in between two lowland rivers. A substantial part of the peat dome is located above river water surface. These forms of peatlands are called bogs, they are oligotrophic (poor in nutrients) and rain water fed. The peat lies like a gigantic drop a water on the lowland plain, held together by the dead organic material and protected by a blanket of living forest that maintains a humid micro-climate and prevents direct solar impact. Most of the tropical peat swamp forests are located in the lowlands of SE Asia

Berbak National Park, Jambi. Indonesia‘s first Ramsar site

Peatlands around the world Countries with most peat World wide 400 million ha 3% of global land area, 40% of all wetlands Present in all climate zones, in 126 countries Indonesia has almost 6 % of global peatlands

Peat accumulates for thousands of years storing concentrated Carbon in thick layers Peat from 2 meters depth Most peatlands in lowlands of Indonesia are around 5000 to 12000 years old. Some can reach over 20m depth

Peatland values Key roles: Associated with Direct sustainable use: carbon stores water retention areas biodiversity conservation Associated with higher human poverty Direct sustainable use: tourism, recreation sustainable forestry, non-timber forest products grazing fisheries

Place in the water cycle Globally 10% of all fresh water is in peat Peatlands are the source areas of many rivers

Water management functions Important role in water storage and supply Crucial for mitigation of droughts and floods

Peat swamp forests are high biodiversity areas

Peatlands and carbon Globally peatlands store 550 Giga ton (Gt) Carbon Equivalent to 30% of terrestrial carbon 75% of all carbon in the atmosphere twice the carbon stored in forests All over the world the peat based Carbon stores are threatened Peatlands store large amounts of carbon Peatland degradation leads to CO2 emissions which contribute to global warming

Some past & present WI peatland projects Central European Peatlands Project (CEPP) Partners for Water & Ecosystems Air Hitam laut project UNEP-GEF Peatlands, Biodiversity and Climate Change project Rusian Peatlands Programme Global Peatland Initiative (GPI) WPRP Berbak and Sembilang National Parks Malaysia Peatland Quick Scan Malaysia Air Hitam project (Ashden Trust) Central Kalimantan Peatlands Project (CKPP) Global Peatland Fund development Peat and palm oil lobby

Global Peatland Initiative Support to 26 project world wide, incl: Peat mapping + global data base Support to CC-GAP + policy lobby at CBD + UNFCCC Ramsar guidelines Paramos, Andean mountains Peatlands & climate change, China (UNEP-GEF co-financing) SE Asian Peatland Action Plan IMPESA Poland peat restoration & carbon sequestration + grazing Restoration Yelnia, Belarus Russian peatlands programme Lapshina peatlands management, Russia Thailand Phru Khuan Kreng Euro 2.3 million

CEPP The CEPP involved 8 countries in the Baltic-Black Sea corridor Results: Strategy and Action Plan for Peatlands in Central Europe Overview of peatlands in Central Europe Identification of peatlands of high value for biodiversity Increased awareness on values and functions of peatlands Follow-up projects by local networks

Peatland distribution in Central Europe

International priorities No further drainage of undrained mires Establish system of well-managed peatland conservation areas Concentrate peat extraction on degraded sites that have poor prospects for restoration Reduce emissions of CO2 by optimising water management Restore peat accumulating conditions in abandoned peatlands

Tropical peatland issues Deforestation Drainage Fires

Peat swamp forest deforestation Peatland deforestation: since 2000: 1.5% per yr which is double the rate for non-peatlands currently 45% deforested Peat forest conservation < 5% of total peatland area

Logging and drainage For logging (legal and illegal) of peat swamp forests often channels are dug to transport equipment and logs This results in drainage of the peat soil, causing increased emissions of CO2

Impact of drainage of tropical peatlands Source: Wösten, Alterra Drainage to 1 meter = emission of 90 ton CO2/ha/yr When drained, peatlands become increasingly vulnerable to fires

Drainage SE Asian peat swamp areas A total of about 13 million ha of SE Asian peat swamps have been drained for agriculture and agro-forestry.

Peat drainage increases the risk of fires Adapted from data provided by Siegert and Page Between 1997 and 2006 there were over 60,000 fires in peat swamps in Borneo in 3 out of 10 years (1997, 1998, 2002) Most affected were deforested and drained peatlands

Some facts and figures Peatlands globally: 3% of land area 3000 million tonnes emitted annually Equivalent to 11.5 % of global fossil fuel emissions Peatlands in SE Asia: < 0,1 % of land area 2000 million tonnes emitted annually Equivalent to 8 % of global fossil fuel emissions A concentrated problem…

What has done?

Forge partnerships

Piloting hydrological restoration Community-based techniques based on traditional knowledge

Dams help restore eco-hydrology of peat swamps

Fire prevention & control Community-based fire brigades

Fire control Establishing fire brigades Establish permanent deep wells in high risk zones wells Establish early warning system

Socio-economic development

Socio-economic development Organise or support exising farmer groups Introduction zero burning agriculture Training in sustainable agriculture and agro-forestry on peat Improve quality and marketing of products Enhance health facilities Handicrafts development Development of village development plans

Re-greening of degraded peatlands Community based

Regreening results Reforestation of degraded peatlands in protected areas with >40 indigenous species Establish village based tree nurseries nursery buildings established Development of non-drained plantations with commercial species near villages

Conservation of remaining peat swamp forests

Biodiversity conservation actions Development of infrastructure and equipment of national parks (boats, offices, research centre, guard posts) Participatory boundary mapping with surrounding villages Support to security patrols, jointly with communities Anti illegal logging operations Aerial monitoring & patrols by ULA Biodiversity studies

Policy reform Support to Green Government Policy development Support to peatland spatial master planning Creating awareness on peat emissions (UNFCCC, CBD) Promotion of precautionary & ecosystem approach Promotion of moratorium on peat swamp forest conversion in context of RSPO (sustainable palm oil)

Television, Press, Radio) IKON TV, 12-15 April 2007; Reuters, 2 May 2007; Nature Alert 2 May 2007; Daily Telegraph 10 Aug 2007. NHK Japan 18-21 Nov 2007; Aljazeera International TV 22-23 Nov 2007; SCTV (National Television), 27-29 Nov 2007; Kompas (National Newspaper), 18-20 Nov 2007; Borneo TV (local television), 18-20 Nov 2007; Dayak Post (local newspaper), 18-20 Nov 2007; RRI (Government radio), 18-20 Nov 2007; Radio Senara (local private radio), 8-20 Nov 2007; La Presse (Canada), 16-18 Dec 2007

OPPORTUNITIES

Potential Monetise international values of peatlands Carbon credits Biodiversity offsets Alternative finance mechanisms Global Peatland Fund Bio-rights Local revolving funds

Options for private sector involvement Global Peatland Fund VERs from peat degradation Involvement banking, insurance & biofuel sectors Cooperation: Corperate social responsibility Joint management of buffer zones for high conservation value forest areas Use of plantations in buffer-zone areas Consider possibilities of: Carbon offsets Biodiversity offsets Joint hydrological management Joint fire control Joint patrol against poaching and illegal logging

Involvement of local communities Incentive mechanisms needed to compensate for opportunity costs of local stakeholders Access to micro-credits in exchange for community services (Bio-rights approach) including: Peatland restoration: Regreening, building and maintaining dams Fire prevention and control Guarding conservation zones and sustainable development of adaptive management zones

Getting to the bottom of the issue

Conditions for up-scaling Adequate planning and policy framework Spatial planning laws Implementation & enforcement of plans Good governance Address local tenure and resource use rights issues: E.g. Recognition local customary rights Enable community based conservation & carbon concessions Address weak policies Remove perverse and conflicting policies

Prepare of opportunities: REDD REDD needs guarantees, assurances, permanence: Solid backing by policy and legislation Long-term carbon concessions Land purchase Insurances (against e.g. fire) Community involvement and ownership is essential part of guaranteeing sustainability of results Need for contracts that: Span multiple governance periods Require commitments of several generations Need for environmental security Stop fires Improve water management

Improve science basis technically sound approaches Proper science base Resource inventory; Socio-economic valuation Baseline development Assessment and monitoring of emissions Accredited methodologies Capacity in local science agencies Need for common standards and criteria, especially related to: Special eco-hydrological qualities of peatlands Complex socio-economic conditions

Added value Peatland restoration and conservation is the lowest hanging fruit on the REDD tree Climate change mitigation Biodiversity conservation Poverty reduction Reduced land & water degradation A WIN4all

Cost effectiveness Willingness to pay Cost benefit of investment for reducing carbon emissions Germany: € 5000 million for 50 Mt/y World Bank in China: € 1500 million for 19 Mt/y UK: € 3000 million for 88 Mt/y Indonesian CKPP: € 10 million for 5 Mt/y Willingness to pay Europe: permit price: $15/t (EUA 2008) Kyoto Protocol energy: $12/t (CER) Kyoto Protocol forestry (BioCarbon Fund): $ 5/t (tCER; 10 years’ ) 4. Voluntary markets: $ 5/t

RISKS Pilots are needed, but will fail if they lack political and social embedding, and integration with current experience and expertise Absorption capacity is limited; donor attention should spread to multiple priority areas in Kalimantan, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Papua

Build on existing experience

Thank you