Gigatonnes of Carbon Are Stored in Under-protected Areas

New research says the world's peatlands — squishy, waterlogged, buggy habitats — are vastly under-protected, despite the critical role they play in regulating the environment.

"17 per cent of peatlands are currently protected," said Kemen Austin, lead author of the new research published in Conservation Letters and director of science at the Wildlife Conservation Society.

That matters because peatlands are also under pressure of being drained or burned for new agriculture or development.

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Limited benchmark

Peatlands are important — the UN Environment Programme estimates as much as 600 billion tonnes of carbon are stored there, as decaying organic material gets trapped inside a water-rich environment. They also provide habitat to a range of plant and animal species, from the humid Congo Basin to Canada's cold north.

There are three road projects proposed to connect the mineral-rich Ring of Fire area in northern Ontario to the provincial highway network, but the roads will have to cross ecologically sensitive river systems and peat lands seen in this CBC file photo. (Marc Doucette/CBC)

"In Canada, we have the Hudson Bay Lowlands," explained Lorna Harris, an ecosystem scientist with Wildlife Conservation Society Canada and study co-author. "It is an area the size of Germany, it is all peatland and it's a globally important carbon store."

The new research used available maps of peatlands and compared them to maps of protected areas worldwide, including national parks and forest reserves. It also assessed where peatlands overlapped with Indigenous lands, noting that Indigenous stewardship typically results in less environmental damage. More than a million square kilometres of peatland exist within Indigenous lands.

However, the study authors omitted this data for Canada due to a lack of available information.

"We just do not have that information," Harris explained. "There is no map that would accurately represent the rights and jurisdictions of Indigenous peoples across Canada."

Under threat

The study found a quarter of all peatlands are under pressure from human encroachment, with an estimated 15 per cent drained for agriculture.

This picture taken on Oct. 2, 2023 shows a chilli plantation owner trying to extinguish a peatland fire to protect his property in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra. (AL ZULKIFLI/AFP via Getty Images)

"It's a pity," said Taufik, a scientist who studies peatlands at IPB University in Bogor, Indonesia.

He says that draining the water is just the first impact.

"After drainage, to prepare land for farming for agriculture," Taufik explained, "the most economical way to do that is through burning. Because if we clear with machine, with instruments … it costs a lot of money."

Bogged down

That doubly damaging effect of disrupting the water and then burning the land would also emit carbon, experts say. But it's unclear how much — and how fast.

A man squeezes water from a fistful of peat gathered from a peatland near Greiffenberg, Germany, on May 31, 2023. Peatlands store organic carbon and it is released when the water is disrupted or dried out. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

A man squeezes water from a fistful of peat gathered from a peatland near Greiffenberg, Germany, on May 31, 2023. Peatlands store organic carbon and it is released when the water is disrupted or dried out. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

"Surely, it is emitted quicker if we dig it up than if we just leave it alone. But we don't actually have a rate on that," Kelly Bona, wetland research scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said, adding that this is an active area of research.

These environments take thousands of years to build back up and also play a role in absorbing a lot of rainwater — releasing it slowly in dryer times.

There's another concern for Canada's peatlands, given the surge of interest in Ontario's Ring of Fire, rich in materials needed for EV batteries.

"The Hudson Bay lowland, that huge area of mining that they argue is needed for the transition to green energy," Lorna Harris, ecosystem scientist with Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, described, "any disturbance … has huge impacts on the stability of those carbon stores."

In other words, gaining critical minerals to lower the emissions of gas-powered cars and trucks may result in massive emissions from the disrupted peatlands.