The National Peatland Policy Project
Developing a strategy for the protection, restoration and stewardship of peatlands in Canada
About the project
The National Peatland Policy Project is a collaborative project led by WCS Canada that aims to inform government law and policy related to peatlands.
Goals:
- Draw on collective experience to produce a vision and strategy for the protection, restoration, and continued stewardship of peatlands in Canada;
- Identify workable solutions to current peatland protection and stewardship challenges;
- Produce policy recommendations – relevant to federal, provincial, territorial and Indigenous governments – that support realization of the national vision.
The result
- A comprehensive review of existing law and policy in Canada applicable to peatlands. Click here to view our policy brief.
- A proposed National Peatland Strategy, including individual action plans for all provinces and territories, identifying goals, strategic priorities, actions, and guiding principles for peatland protection, restoration, and stewardship at different governance levels across Canada.
- A network of over 300 peatland knowledge-holders focused on improving law and policy across Canada.
What's next?
- Widespread dissemination of the National Peatland Strategy and communication of its core recommendations to government decision-makers across the country.
- Continued research and analysis to address identified gaps and limitations of current peatland policy approaches and put forward new solutions.
- Ongoing engagement with peatland knowledge-holders and impacted communities to better understand opportunities to strengthen peatland protection, restoration, and stewardship.
Why it’s needed
Protecting peatlands in Canada is critical to meaningful global action on climate change and biodiversity.
- Peatlands store 20-30% of the world’s soil carbon.
- Canada contains one quarter of the world’s peatlands and the world’s largest peatland carbon stock.
- Despite Canada’s disproportionate global responsibility to protect and manage these critical landscapes, it has no strategy or coordinated action on policy at the national level for peatlands.
- Canada’s peatlands are subject to an outdated, fragmented patchwork of laws and policies. Peatlands continue to be converted and disturbed at unsustainable rates, resulting in large losses of mostly irrecoverable carbon and carbon sequestration potential.
- A concerted and collaborative effort is required to implement a shared vision and strategy to ensure the protection, restoration, and stewardship of peatlands.
