Peatlands are ecosystems with an important role to play in climate protection and the preservation of intact landscapes. In many regions, they provide the foundations for human well-being. They store roughly twice as much carbon as the world’s forests, while providing protection from floods, ensuring safe drinking water and offering habitats for many plant and animal species. Yet peatlands are seriously threatened by drainage for agriculture, peat extraction and infrastructure development. In Uganda and Rwanda, this is generating extensive greenhouse gas emissions and causing the loss of important ecosystem functions.
Key stakeholders and local communities are enabled to better conserve and manage peatlands in Uganda and Rwanda. A lasting balance has been achieved between the protection of these valuable ecosystems and their sustainable use.
The project connects and improves policy and decision-making processes, economic incentives and nature conservation measures, with the aim of promoting land use that balances the needs of people and nature. To achieve this, it is working with the Michael Succow Foundation – a partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre (MSF-GMC) – and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as implementation partners.
The project supports key stakeholders and local communities to take science-based decisions. It promotes paludiculture, a sustainable way of using wet or rewetted peatlands that enables the creation of products from peatland landscapes while preserving their ecosystems. The project is also piloting financing options for the long-term conservation of peatlands. It promotes regional and international dialogue to support the sharing of successful approaches and reciprocal learning.