Asia: Rewetting tropical peatlands

Natural peat swamps are important biodiversity reservoirs, carbon stores and hydrological buffers. They contain a wide variety of trees, including highly important economic species, and provide habitats for various endangered species. In their natural state these peatlands are carbon sinks, but many are turning into carbon sources right now. Alterra Wageningen UR is working on solutions, for example on systems for more adequate water management. This method has been approved now as a new Verified Carbon Standard methodology.

Tropical peatlands cover worldwide around 45 million hectares. Large areas of these rather unknown but very important lands in Southeast Asia are under threat from land clearance, degradation and fire, jeopardising their natural functions as reservoirs of biodiversity, carbon stores and hydrological buffers. Utilisation of this resource for agriculture or plantation crops requires drainage that, unavoidably, leads to irreversible subsidence resulting in loss of peat emitting as CO2 to the atmosphere. When continued, it results in severe disturbance of the substrate and creates problems for cultivation and peoples’ livelihoods.

Adequate water management proves to reduce carbon losses caused both by drainage and fires. Once peatlands are degraded by legal or illegal drainage canals, it is necessary to construct dams to restore their hydrological integrity. Drainage channels must be blocked or water flow along them retarded to prevent water tables dropping substantially below the peat surface for any length of time. Only rewetting of the peat restores its natural resource functions, decreases peat oxidation and reduces fire risk.

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