Global Peatland Mapping

Grant Agreement nr. WGP1 29 GPI 1

Agreement holders: Duene, c.o. Greifswald University (Lead applicant) and the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC)

Country/region: Global

Activity period: 01/12/2001 – 30/06/2002

Objectives and results:

ISRIC

1. Produce a 1:10 000 000 equal area global peat map within an overall “wetland framework” based on the FAO soil map
2. Indicate where Ramsar sites with peat can be found.
3. Calculate on a country base area of peatlands

Greifswald

1. Provide a list of countries where peat is most probably present.
2. Provide areal data (km²) on the current presence of peatlands for all countries of the world on the basis of all available peat literature.

ISRIC/Greifswald

1. Agree on a best professional global peat map for the present aim of awareness.
2. Compare the peat surfaces calculated from the FAO map and the world wide data base provided by Greifswald.

Achieved:

ISRIC

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes

Greifswald

1. Yes
2. Yes

ISRIC/Greifswald

1. Yes
2. Yes. This resulted in a significantly improved overview, which was used as the basis for the development of the two maps.

• The main success is that for the first time there is an overview, both in table format as well as in maps, of the distribution of peatlands in the world, both in terms of their global distribution, but also in terms of occurrence as a habitat in each country of the world. This is a significant achievement, and very important as a tool to identify needs for Ramsar site designation. Many countries are not even aware that they have substantial areas of peatlands, and this information will help them to recognise that they too have a role to play in fulfilling some of the resolutions of the Ramsar Convention regarding the wise use of peatlands, and designation of more Ramsar sites of this under-represented wetland type.

• The maps and data have been distributed at the CBD CoP6, and will be further distributed at the Ramsar CoP8 and via the web.