Grazing as a conservation management tool in peatland

Grant Agreement nr. WGP1 23 GPI 34

Agreement holder: Nature Conservation and Plant Ecology Group, Dept. of Environmental Sciences, WUR.

Country/region: Central/Eastern Europe & North Asia

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

Objectives and results:

Identification of the suitability and feasibility of natural and semi-natural grazing by livestock and wild herbivores as tool for the conservation of open peatland and its biodiversity.

To address the following issues:

1. Alternative long-term management strategies for peatland in nature conservation areas (reserves, national parks, traditional agricultural areas);
2. Required additional scientific research to provide understanding and expertise for strategic management decisions;
3. Recommendations for management and research;
4. Agreements and commitments for future management-research cooperation and exchange.

Achieved:

The results of the workshop have been compiled in a report entitled: Grazing as a conservation management tool in peatland. Report of a Workshop held 22-26 April 2002 in Goniadz (PL), edited and compiled by J. Bokdam, A. van Braeckel , C.Werpachowski & M. Znaniecka.

The workshop dealt with these questions in a systematic way, starting with problem identification (abandonment, succession and biodiversity loss), discussing suitability (depends on intensity and timing), feasibility (requires trade-offs between ecological and socio-economic benefits), Management and local co-operation (recognise that National Parks are not islands, but require local community participation), Research and international cooperation (different research subjects were identified, and the workshop succeeded in facilitating many useful international contacts).

The Project was very successful, not just in terms of its targeted work, but also in its spin-offs. Parts of the workshop discussions and interviews with discussion leaders were broadcast by one regional and two national Polish TV-channels and by radio Bialystok. The workshop report was distributed among 100 key agencies and individuals, to be used as a basis for launching actions for grazing management and grazing research. The subject was also discussed at the Ramsar CoP8 in November 2002, (incl. Global Biodiversity Forum).