Mismatch Between Global Importance of Peatlands and the Extent of Their Protection
ABSTRACT Global peatlands store more carbon than all the world's forests biomass on just 3% of the planet's land surface. Failure to address mounting threats to peatland ecosystems will jeopardize critical climate targets and exacerbate biodiversity loss. Our analysis reveals that 17% of p...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Conservation Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.13080 |
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| author | Kemen G. Austin Paul R Elsen Euridice N. Honorio Coronado Alfred DeGemmis Angela V. Gallego‐Sala Lorna Harris Heidi E. Kretser Joe R. Melton Daniel Murdiyarso Sigit D. Sasmito Erin Swails Arief Wijaya R. Scott Winton Dan Zarin |
| author_facet | Kemen G. Austin Paul R Elsen Euridice N. Honorio Coronado Alfred DeGemmis Angela V. Gallego‐Sala Lorna Harris Heidi E. Kretser Joe R. Melton Daniel Murdiyarso Sigit D. Sasmito Erin Swails Arief Wijaya R. Scott Winton Dan Zarin |
| author_sort | Kemen G. Austin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Global peatlands store more carbon than all the world's forests biomass on just 3% of the planet's land surface. Failure to address mounting threats to peatland ecosystems will jeopardize critical climate targets and exacerbate biodiversity loss. Our analysis reveals that 17% of peatlands are protected globally—substantially less than many other high‐value ecosystems. Just 11% percent of boreal and 27% of temperate and tropical peatlands are protected, while Indigenous peoples' lands encompass at least another one‐quarter of peatlands globally. Peatlands in protected areas and Indigenous peoples' lands generally face lower human pressure than outside those areas. Yet, almost half of temperate and tropical peatlands in protected areas still experience medium to high human pressure. Country submissions of Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement and National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans under the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework could help catalyze actions and secure funding for peatland conservation, including support for the Indigenous stewardship that is critical to protect many of the world's highest priority peatland areas. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2e40941f45d54c5bbc0608d33408f264 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1755-263X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Conservation Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-2e40941f45d54c5bbc0608d33408f2642025-08-20T03:11:14ZengWileyConservation Letters1755-263X2025-01-01181n/an/a10.1111/conl.13080Mismatch Between Global Importance of Peatlands and the Extent of Their ProtectionKemen G. Austin0Paul R Elsen1Euridice N. Honorio Coronado2Alfred DeGemmis3Angela V. Gallego‐Sala4Lorna Harris5Heidi E. Kretser6Joe R. Melton7Daniel Murdiyarso8Sigit D. Sasmito9Erin Swails10Arief Wijaya11R. Scott Winton12Dan Zarin13Global Conservation Program Wildlife Conservation Society Bronx New York USAGlobal Conservation Program Wildlife Conservation Society Bronx New York USASchool of Geography and Sustainable Development University of St. Andrews St. Andrews UKGlobal Conservation Program Wildlife Conservation Society Bronx New York USAGeography Department University of Exeter Exeter UKWildlife Conservation Society Canada Toronto CanadaGlobal Conservation Program Wildlife Conservation Society Bronx New York USAClimate Research Division Environment and Climate Change Canada Victoria British Columbia CanadaCenter for International Forestry Research–World Agroforestry Situgede Bogor IndonesiaCentre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER) James Cook University Douglas Queensland AustraliaCenter for International Forestry Research–World Agroforestry Situgede Bogor IndonesiaWRI Indonesia Jakarta IndonesiaEnvironmental Studies Department University of California Santa Cruz Santa Cruz California USAGlobal Conservation Program Wildlife Conservation Society Bronx New York USAABSTRACT Global peatlands store more carbon than all the world's forests biomass on just 3% of the planet's land surface. Failure to address mounting threats to peatland ecosystems will jeopardize critical climate targets and exacerbate biodiversity loss. Our analysis reveals that 17% of peatlands are protected globally—substantially less than many other high‐value ecosystems. Just 11% percent of boreal and 27% of temperate and tropical peatlands are protected, while Indigenous peoples' lands encompass at least another one‐quarter of peatlands globally. Peatlands in protected areas and Indigenous peoples' lands generally face lower human pressure than outside those areas. Yet, almost half of temperate and tropical peatlands in protected areas still experience medium to high human pressure. Country submissions of Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement and National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans under the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework could help catalyze actions and secure funding for peatland conservation, including support for the Indigenous stewardship that is critical to protect many of the world's highest priority peatland areas.https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.13080area‐based conservationclimatepeatpeatlandsprotected areasrights–based conservation |
| spellingShingle | Kemen G. Austin Paul R Elsen Euridice N. Honorio Coronado Alfred DeGemmis Angela V. Gallego‐Sala Lorna Harris Heidi E. Kretser Joe R. Melton Daniel Murdiyarso Sigit D. Sasmito Erin Swails Arief Wijaya R. Scott Winton Dan Zarin Mismatch Between Global Importance of Peatlands and the Extent of Their Protection Conservation Letters area‐based conservation climate peat peatlands protected areas rights–based conservation |
| title | Mismatch Between Global Importance of Peatlands and the Extent of Their Protection |
| title_full | Mismatch Between Global Importance of Peatlands and the Extent of Their Protection |
| title_fullStr | Mismatch Between Global Importance of Peatlands and the Extent of Their Protection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mismatch Between Global Importance of Peatlands and the Extent of Their Protection |
| title_short | Mismatch Between Global Importance of Peatlands and the Extent of Their Protection |
| title_sort | mismatch between global importance of peatlands and the extent of their protection |
| topic | area‐based conservation climate peat peatlands protected areas rights–based conservation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.13080 |
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