Project title: Initial meeting of the Coordinating Committee for Global Action on Peatlands (CC-GAP)

Grant Agreement Nr. WGP2 40 GPI 84

Agreement holder:
  Tobias Salathé
  Ramsar Bureau
  Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland

Country/region: Global

Activity period: Oct-Dec 2003

Documentation and products available:

Background:

Since several years, the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) are focusing increasingly on further cooperation on wise use, sustainable development, and conservation of global peatlands. In 1996 (COP6 in Brisbane), they adopted Resolution VI.1 followed in 1999 (COP7 in San José) by Resolution VII.1 requesting cooperation from Contracting Parties and other interested bodies to refine a Draft Global Action Plan for the Wise Use and Management of Peatlands.

Ramsar’s Scientific and Technical Review Panel, with expert support from the International Peat Society and the International Mire Conservation Group, undertook this work which culminated in 2002 (COP8 in Valencia) in Resolution VIII.17 adopting Guidelines for Global Action on Peatlands. The Resolution requests the Ramsar Bureau to establish a Coordinating Committee for Global Action on Peatlands (henceforth CC-GAP) to prepare an implementation plan for global action on peatlands and to report on progress in implementing the Guidelines, including recommendations on future priorities.

Major partners in this endeavour include interested Ramsar Contracting Parties (e.g. Canada, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Russian Federation, South Africa), the International Mire Conservation Group (IMCG), the International Peat Society (IPS), the convention’s International Organization Partners (Wetlands International, IUCN, WWF, BirdLife) and other non-governmental organizations, the private sector and other interested bodies. The IMCG and IPS, as well as the Global Peatland Initiative (GPI) were planning to have meetings back-to-back in the Netherlands, as well as the Steering Committee of the project on Integrated Management of Peatlands for Biodiversity and Climate Change (co-funded by UNEP-GEF). This provided an ideal occasion to bring together representative experts from these main institutions and all parts of the world, at minimum cost, for an inception meeting of the CC-GAP.

The Guidelines for Global Action on Peatlands (Annex of Resolution VIII.17) specify the role of the CC-GAP and the problems is should be addressing:

  1. A Coordinating Committee for Global Action on Peatlands should be established, as resources permit. The CC-GAP should be chaired by the Ramsar Bureau and comprise governments and invited partner organizations and be geographically balanced.

  2. The GAP-CC should develop a global implementation plan which specifies the actions needed for the implementation of these Guidelines, including initiatives and timetables to deliver the priority actions identified by the Guidelines, and track and review the progress of their implementation.
    3. Contracting Parties and others should assist the GAP-CC in identifying sources of funding in order to implement the actions identified in the implementation plan for global action on peatlands.

  3. Contracting Parties and others should assist the GAP-CC in identifying sources of funding in order to implement the actions identified in the implementation plan for global action on peatlands.

  4. The CC should develop and implement a monitoring and reporting procedure to evaluate the effectiveness of implementation of these Guidelines for Global Action on Peatlands and their global implementation plan, and report to Ramsar COP9 on the progress, including the progress of the Working Group on Peatland Terminology, Classification, and Biogeography, once established (see Guideline A1 above), and improvements to knowledge of the global peatland resource (see Guidelines A7, A10 and A11).

  5. The GAP-CC should review and prepare for COP9 recommendations on future priorities and implementation of these Guidelines for the 2006-2008 triennium and for subsequent meetings of the Conference of the Parties as appropriate.

Brief project description:

Establishing and holding the inception meeting of the CC-GAP that will coordinate and monitor the implementation of the Guidelines for Global Action on Peatlands adopted at Ramsar COP8, and preparing a report of implementation and recommendations for future actions to COP9.

Results:

Expected Outputs and Results achieved

Objectives and results:

  1. To establish the CC-GAP, as requested by the Ramsar Contracting Parties through Resolution VIII.17.


Direct actions:

  1. To hold an inception meeting of the CC-GAP and launching its work for the triennium to 2005 when COP9 will take place.


Action of the meeting:

  • Definition and establishment of the membership

  • Election of CC-GAP chair (Ramsar Bureau)

  • Review of terms of Reference

  • Analysis and overview of ongoing peatland activities and programmes in comparison with the seven priority approaches outlined in the Ramsar Guidelines for Global Action on Peatlands

    1. Elaborating a plan of implementation for global action on peatlands according to the Guidelines

    2. Defining a monitoring and reporting procedure and the way of operating of the CC-GAP, in order to finalise the implementation plan for global action on peatlands, to monitor progress with its implementation, and to report to COP9

    3. Selection of an institution to provide secretariat services to the CC-GAP

    4. Defining the venue and date of the next meeting of the CC-GAP.

Achieved:

Fully achieved




1. The meeting was held on 5 and 6 November 2003


  • The participants adopted a list of bodies from which CC-GAP experts should be drawn, cf. Document 4.Rev

  • The proposal to have the Ramsar Bureau in the chair was accepted unanimously.

  • The CC-GAP reviewed its draft terms of reference under this agenda point and made minor revisions included in Document 3.Rev.

  • The initial meeting served a) to establish an overview/analysis of ongoing peatland activities and programmes, b) to identify relevant gaps, c) to prepare an implementation plan for GAP, and d) to adopt a plan of work, monitoring and reporting to COP9. The meeting decided on the way the CC-GAP will operate during the triennium, and on the possible co-option of additional members. Work of the CC-GAP will be carried out via e-mail and with the help of the STRP Support Service.

  • The overview and analysis of ongoing activities and the elaboration of an implementation plan were started with extensive discussions and specific contributions by the participants entered into the provisional draft table provided in Document 5.First Draft.

  • No final monitoring and reporting procedure was adopted yet. However, the first draft of the Implementation Plan matrix (cf. Document 5.First Draft) serves as a working document. At a later stage, the selection of key words and classification of topics for the Implementation Plan will need further review.

  • Wetlands International accepted to provide the secretariat services to the CC-GAP. The documentation of the meeting and the draft Global Action Plan of Peatlands will be made accessible to the CC-GAP via the web-based STRP support service managed by Wetlands International.

The second meeting of the CC-GAP is planned to take place on 6 June 2004, back-to-back with the 12th International Peat Congress to be held 6-11 June 2004 in Tampere, Finland.It was suggested that possibly a third CC-GAP meeting could be held prior to COP9 in Uganda. Also, it was noted that a side event during COP9 could be envisaged.
Evaluation

The project achieved everything it set out to do. The inception meeting of the CC-GAP was successfully held. The committee will coordinate and monitor the implementation of the Guidelines for Global Action on Peatlands adopted at Ramsar COP8, and prepare a report of implementation and recommendations for future actions to COP9.

The GPI was able to support the establishment of this important Coordinating Committee with a small grant, and as such played a useful facilitating role to set the global agenda for action on peatlands. This will also help to internalise the lessons learned from the GPI in a broader and global policy platform, and enhance the chances for a concerted follow-up to key GPI activities and outcomes.


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last update: 20/07/04