Carbon-Sequestering Peatlands Overlooked, Endangered by Human Activity, New Study Warns

Overlooked as one of the world’s most effective natural carbon sinks, peatlands are under dire threat from human activity, finds a new study published in the journal Conservation Letters by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

Bogs, fens, swamps, mires, and muskeg—all misunderstood as unproductive wastelands—are “dangerously under-protected, putting global climate at risk,” warns WCS in its report. Though they cover only 3% of the Earth’s surface, peatlands store 600 billion tonnes of carbon, more than all forest biomass combined.

They are also the guardians of global water resources, storing 10% of the planet’s unfrozen freshwater, and biodiversity.

The peer-reviewed study finds that 22%, nearly one-quarter, of global peatlands are “under heavy pressure” from human encroachment, with commercial agriculture presenting the gravest threat. A further 12% of peatlands are estimated to be under “medium pressure” from human development.

Despite their importance, only 17% of peatlands are within protected areas, far less than other ecosystems like tropical forests (38%), mangroves (42%), and saltmarshes (50%). This conservation gap leaves peatlands highly vulnerable to degradation, with big repercussions for global climate goals.

Peatlands and Climate Change

In their pristine state, peatlands act as long-term carbon sinks by accumulating partially decomposed organic matter. When they are disturbed—through draining, burning, or extractive industries—massive amounts of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere.

“Between 1.5 and 2.5 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions are emitted from disturbed and damaged global peatlands every year,” says WCS. This amounts to roughly 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions from all land use changes and forestry worldwide, lead study author Kemen Austin, WCS director of science, told The Energy Mix.

Once lost, this peatland carbon “cannot be restored on time scales that matter for preventing dangerous climate change,” WCS warns. Given the ease with which peatlands switch from being carbon sinks to carbon “bombs,” the international community must recognize that conservation and sustainable management of undegraded peatlands, and recovery of nearly all degraded peatlands, are essential to limiting global heating.

“The continued disturbance and damage to global peatlands is getting very little attention as a significant and avoidable source of greenhouse gas emissions,” Austin said, referencing the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that countries have submitted to date under the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

“Peatlands offer a huge opportunity for helping to solve the climate crisis,” Austin added. “If we act now to conserve peatlands, we can reap some enormous benefits—at a relatively low cost.”

Indigenous Stewardship and Conservation

Indigenous communities play a crucial role in conservation efforts. At least 1.1 million square kilometres (27%) of global peatlands lie within Indigenous peoples’ lands, with 85% of that total located outside designated protected zones.

This bodes well for peatland protection, given the growing evidence of Indigenous stewardship.

“Indigenous peoples are already important caretakers of peatlands,” so strengthening conservation will go hand in hand with strengthening Indigenous land rights, said study author Paul Elsen, WCS director of conservation planning.

Systems to track peatland health indicators like water table depth, soil moisture, rates of subsidence, and greenhouse gas fluxes must urgently be implemented, alongside stronger regulatory protections and finance mechanisms to provide incentives for peatland conservation.

The study comes three weeks after environmental scientists in the United Kingdom published their research into how global heating will affect peatlands in the region. They warn of “substantial losses” over the next 40 to 60 years in all areas that today are suitable for peatland, even under moderate emissions scenarios.

At 1.8°C, for example, only the reaches of western Scotland will retain “substantial areas suitable for peat.”

Cover photo: Bob Jones/Wikimedia Commons