The findings offer valuable insights into the potential for increased carbon storage, the impacts of deforestation on biodiversity, and the sensitivity of carbon, timber, and species richness to forest age. The comprehensive analysis of diverse data sources enhances the understanding of global forest carbon dynamics and informs future research and policy development in climate change and forest management.

Highlights

• Global Forests as Carbon Sinks: Global forests consistently absorb around 3.6 Pg C yr−1, offsetting nearly half of fossil-fuel emissions and playing a critical role in mitigating climate change.
• Regional Variations in Carbon Sinks: While temperate and regrowth tropical forests increased their carbon absorption by 30% and 29%, respectively, boreal and intact tropical forests saw decreases of 36% and 31% due to intensified disturbances and deforestation.
• Impact of Deforestation: Two-thirds of the carbon absorption benefits provided by global forests are negated by tropical deforestation, emphasizing the urgent need for effective land management policies to protect these crucial carbon sinks.

The post The enduring world forest carbon sink appeared first on Global Landscapes Forum.

About GLF Peatlands 2024

Peatlands cover 3-4% of Earth’s land but store a third of global soil carbon. Despite their importance, 12% are degraded, contributing 4% of human-induced emissions.

Degradation, driven by agriculture and forestry, causes environmental and social issues like fires and economic damage. Managing peatlands effectively requires collaboration across sectors.

The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) Peatlands 2024 Hybrid Conference brought together global stakeholders to address gaps in peatland science, policy, and practice. Held alongside the UNFCCC Bonn Climate Change Conference, it explored peatlands’ roles in carbon storage, biodiversity, and water regulation.

Indonesia’s Peat-IMPACTS Project

Discover insights from Indonesia’s Peat IMPACTS project, aiming to enhance sustainable peatland management. Addressing challenges through governance strengthening, sustainable supply chains, and climate governance, Peat IMPACTS aligns with Indonesia’s NDC goals. This session highlights project outcomes and synergies with Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) Indonesia and the International Tropical Peatland Center (ITPC).

Speakers

Dr. Sonya Dewi, Principal Investigator of Peat IMPACTS; Feri Johana, Project Coordinator; Regina Ariyati and Ir. H Adi Yani from provincial governments; and Dr. Agus Justianto, Director of Sustainable Forest Management in Indonesia.

The post 360 Degree Approach to Improving Capacity of Multiple Stakeholders to Manage Peatland Sustainably: Lessons learned from Indonesia appeared first on Global Landscapes Forum.

About GLF Peatlands 2024

Peatlands cover 3-4% of Earth’s land but store a third of global soil carbon. Despite their importance, 12% are degraded, contributing 4% of human-induced emissions.

Degradation, driven by agriculture and forestry, causes environmental and social issues like fires and economic damage. Managing peatlands effectively requires collaboration across sectors.

The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) Peatlands 2024 Hybrid Conference brought together global stakeholders to address gaps in peatland science, policy, and practice. Held alongside the UNFCCC Bonn Climate Change Conference, it explored peatlands’ roles in carbon storage, biodiversity, and water regulation.

Unlocking the Power of Peatlands

This plenary session gathered experts, policymakers, and practitioners to foster integrated solutions for peatland management. Emphasizing the critical importance of peatlands for climate regulation and biodiversity conservation, the discussion delved into the pressing need for conservation efforts. By building on existing knowledge, we confronted the challenges hindering effective peatland protection and restoration. The session explored how actionable research and local best practices from across regions can pave the way for a regenerative future for peatlands.

Session Speakers

Moderator: Amy Duchelle, Senior Forestry Officer and Team Leader of Forests and Climate in FAO’s Forestry Division

Speakers: Éliane Ubalijoro, CEO, CIFOR-ICRAF; Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary, BMZ; Musonda Mumba, Secretary General, Convention on Wetlands; Alfred Okot Okidi, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water & Environment of Uganda; Kristell Hergoualc’h, Senior Scientist, CIFOR’s Climate Change, Energy and Low-Carbon Development Team; Alexandra Barthelmes, Senior Researcher, Greifswald University; Claudenir Favero, Full Professor of Soil Management and Agroecology, UFVJM; Erci Ezerda Alves Ferreira, Community Leader & Vice-President, Guardians Association of the Quilombo Serra do Quilombo de Raiz; Andreia Ferreira dos Santos Ribeiro, President, Guardians Association of the Quilombo Serra do Quilombo de Raiz; Emmanuela Shinta, Founder, Ranu Welum Foundation.

The post The Climate Solution We Forgot: Unlocking the Power of Peatlands appeared first on Global Landscapes Forum.

The post Overview of the Global Peatlands Assessment appeared first on Global Landscapes Forum.

The post Promoting Multilateral Cooperation for Sustainable Peatland management appeared first on Global Landscapes Forum.

Peatlands are critical ecosystems that cover only 3 percent of the world’s land area but contain massive carbon stocks. Effective management of peatlands offers opportunities for both climate change mitigation and adaptation. Conservation and restoration efforts not only help mitigate climate change but also safeguard essential ecosystem services, enhancing adaptive capacity and resilience. This brief, developed as part of the Global Peatlands Initiative, aims to assist national governments in bolstering their climate commitments by integrating peatland conservation and restoration into their strategies.

Key Messages

• Critical carbon reservoir: Despite their small land coverage, peatlands hold vast carbon stocks, making them essential for mitigating climate change.
• Dual climate benefits: Improved peatland management not only helps mitigate climate change but also offers adaptation opportunities, crucial for global resilience.
• Preserving ecosystem services: Conservation and restoration efforts safeguard vital ecosystem services, bolstering adaptive capacity and resilience in the face of climate change impacts.
• Integration in national strategies: Integrating peatland conservation and restoration into national climate strategies, such as NDCs and long-term plans, is imperative for achieving Paris Agreement goals.
• Cross-sector collaboration: Inclusion of peatlands in emission reduction and adaptation targets across sectors like agriculture, forestry, and energy significantly advances Paris Agreement objectives.
• Informing stakeholders: This brief serves as the first in a series, informing stakeholders about practical approaches to address climate action on peatlands.
• Advocating for action: National agencies are urged to embed peatland considerations into legislative, regulatory, and planning frameworks to ensure effective climate action implementation.

The post Peatlands and climate planning appeared first on Global Landscapes Forum.

About the FOLUR Annual Meeting

The FOLUR Impact Program brought together over 100 country projects and core partners in São Paulo, Brazil, to discuss topics surrounding land restoration and sustainable value chain implementation over the course of four days.

In this video, the GLF’s Eden Flaherty sits down with Nguyen Dinh Tho, Director, Institute of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam.

Learn more about the FOLUR Impact Program

The post Nguyen Dinh Tho from Vietnam at FOLUR Partner Meeting Brazil appeared first on Global Landscapes Forum.

• Peatlands play a significant role in the global carbon and methane cycles
• This study found that methane emissions are high in peatlands experiencing disturbances and specific microtopographical conditions
• Methane emissions in the studied Andean peatlands were higher than in other regions of the Andes, and they were associated with certain vegetation types and human disturbances

Why managing and restoring Andean peatlands is vital for climate change mitigation

Peatlands, often overlooked ecosystems, play a crucial role in the global carbon and methane cycles. A recent study focused on peatlands in the Andes, specifically investigating methane emissions. Previous research suggested that methane emissions were low in mountain peatlands due to cushion plants in central and southern regions. However, the new study revealed that disturbances and specific microtopographical conditions influence methane emissions. Methane fluxes were found to be positively correlated with the water table, particularly when it was high or above the surface, and were directly linked to soil temperature.

Surprisingly, the Andean peatlands exhibited higher methane emissions compared to other regions in the Andes, and these emissions were associated with certain vegetation types and human disturbances. Contrary to earlier assumptions, cushion plants showed only a minor contribution to methane emissions, with higher emissions observed from the hollows between cushions, even in undisturbed areas. Additionally, sites dominated by sedges and the moss Sphagnum had higher emissions when the water level was high or when the plants were submerged.

The study emphasizes the significance of managing and restoring Andean peatlands, as disturbed peatlands were found to be significant sources of methane. Intriguingly, restoration efforts involving peat rewetting initially led to higher methane emissions. Nevertheless, in the long term, restoration activities can contribute to reducing methane emissions. Despite these important findings, there is still a lack of clear understanding regarding belowground processes related to methane production and transport in these ecosystems, which hampers the development of effective management strategies. Therefore, further research is needed to improve our knowledge and ensure the preservation of these vital peatland ecosystems and their contribution to the global climate.

Learn how our Restoration Steward David Cardenas is Restoring tropical mountain peatlands in the Colombian Andes

The post Spatial and temporal patterns of methane emissions from mountain peatlands in the northern Andes across a disturbance gradient appeared first on Global Landscapes Forum.

Carbon Finance Learning Track 3

The Carbon Finance Learning Program is a series of webinars that helps share knowledge and expertise from carbon finance experts while providing insights through real-life case studies. The program targets, in particular, economic actors, local project developers, and young professionals/students.

Learning Track 3 on carbon finance for nature-based solutions aims to increase understanding of ways to sell carbon credits, negotiation processes in carbon markets, and the importance of benefit-sharing schemes.

This program is organized in the Luxembourg-GLF Finance for Nature Platform framework and was launched during the platform’s Digital Forum on Sustainable Finance for Nature-based Solutions.

Watch the Carbon Finance Learning Program webinar series:

• Learning Tracks 1 –Introduction to climate and carbon finance
• Learning Track 2 – Introduction to carbon accounting & certification

Further your career and explore GLF’s Landscape Academy 

The post How to sell carbon credits on the market appeared first on Global Landscapes Forum.

This report summarizes findings of the work carried out by CIAT under the World Bank project, ‘Livestock sector readiness to access climate finance’, whose objective is to increase the readiness of public and private entities within the livestock sector to access climate finance.

The Colombian beef sector is growing rapidly as a response to increased demand in the domestic as well as foreign markets. There is a growing body of evidence showing that growth in the beef sector is driving deforestation, as the expansion of pastures results from encroachment on forest cover. Thus, negatively impacting the environment. Consumers may be more attracted to buying sustainably-produced beef, thereby avoiding deforestation and using low-carbon methods of production, at a competitive price. However, consumers are often far removed from production zones such as the Orinoquia and may not recognize the negative or positive environmental impacts of production systems.

The World Bank project is thus testing the investment potential of a value chain finance approach. If transparent and reliable traceability systems can be put in place to earn consumers’ confidence that the beef they see in the supermarket has been produced in a climate-friendly manner, this can add value to the product and ultimately compensate actors along the value chain for what may be perceived as higher costs, and at the same time reduce the sector’s climate impact.

The post Carbon footprint and mitigation scenarios for Hacienda San Jose: Identifying opportunities and challenges using a consolidated modelling framework appeared first on Global Landscapes Forum.