Peatlands, often overlooked yet crucial ecosystems, hold a staggering amount of the planet’s carbon, equivalent to over half a century of current global emissions. Despite occupying just 3% of the Earth’s land surface, these wetlands store more carbon than all the world’s forests combined. However, only a small fraction of peatlands are protected, posing significant risks to global climate efforts. As the threat from human activities intensifies, experts urge immediate action to protect these vital carbon sinks.
Peatlands, known by various names such as bogs, fens, swamps, mires, and muskeg, are waterlogged wetlands where dead plant matter accumulates slowly due to limited decomposition. These ecosystems are found predominantly in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Russia, and Indonesia—countries that together contain almost three-quarters of the world's peatlands. Alarmingly, only 17% of these crucial areas fall within protected zones.
In contrast, the United Kingdom has taken significant steps toward peatland preservation. A comprehensive peatland strategy supports its national climate plans, with 41% of its peatlands under protection. This ranks the UK 12th in the world by area of protected peatland. Yet, the situation is far from ideal; approximately 80% of the UK's bogs have already been degraded by activities such as draining, overgrazing, and burning.
The degradation of peatlands is a global concern. Almost a quarter face heavy pressure from human activities like farming and mining, which drain these areas and release large quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere. This degradation jeopardizes their role as carbon sinks. Prof Heiko Balzter warns of the potential loss of this vital carbon sink, emphasizing the urgency of protective measures.
"Peatlands are often overlooked, not helped by the fact that they are typically flat, wet, often inaccessible, not always picturesque and, unlike forests, the gigatonnes of carbon they hold are hiding below the surface." – Prof Chris Evans
Experts stress that peatlands are an "ultra-high-value ecosystem" with dangerously low levels of protection. If these ecosystems were a country, they would be the fourth largest polluter globally after China, the United States, and India.
"Their value for people, both locally and at the global scale, is just enormous." – Dr Kemen Austin
There are pivotal opportunities in 2025 to integrate peatland protection into national climate and biodiversity strategies. Enhancing land rights for Indigenous peoples and safeguarding land from harmful exploitation could significantly contribute to this effort.
"The carbon in peatlands took hundreds to thousands of years to accumulate and cannot be replaced on timescales relevant to climate change action." – Dr Kemen Austin
Protecting peatlands offers substantial benefits for climate action. Dr Kemen Austin emphasizes that the return on investment is significant when considering their preservation.
"The bang for the buck is really high when we think about protecting them." – Dr Kemen Austin