Tropical peatlands are among the world’s most valuable ecosystems, which play a crucial role in global carbon storage, regulating the water cycle, supporting biodiversity, and providing livelihoods for local communities. However, tropical peatlands are under significant threat due to land-use change, agriculture, drainage, and unsustainable development practices. This degradation contributes to substantial carbon emissions, exacerbating climate change and impacting local livelihoods. Thus, sustainable management and restoration of these ecosystems are of critical importance to meet national, regional and global climate goals and targets, including the Folu Net Sink 2030 initiative.
Efforts to promote sustainable management and restoration of tropical peatlands require an integrated approach, combining technical knowledge, strong stakeholder engagement, and capacity-building initiatives at various levels of governance and society. In this context, capacity building and stakeholder engagement are pivotal in ensuring the success of peatland restoration and management, as they enhance the capability of various actors, including government, private sector, civil societies, and local communities, to adopt and implement sustainable practices.
In addition, enhanced policy integration and innovative financing mechanisms are key areas that will strengthen coordination between local and national policies, increased technical and financial support for stakeholders, and creative funding models that can contribute to more sustainable and resilient peatland governance.
The primary objective of this session is to discuss and develop strategies to strengthen capacity building and stakeholder engagement for the sustainable management and restoration of tropical peatlands. Specifically, the session aims to:
• Share best practices and lessons learned in capacity building and stakeholder engagement for sustainable peatland management.
• Foster cross-sectoral cooperation among governments, local communities, researchers, civil society, and the private sector in peatland management.
• Explore successful models and approaches for tropical peatland restoration and management.
• Explore opportunities for collaboration among various stakeholders, including international partners, to support the ongoing initiatives, such as the International Tropical Peatlands Center (ITPC), and the alignment of peatland management and restoration with the climate goals.
Identification of best practices/approaches from different regions for multistakeholder engagement in tropical peatland management and restoration, while also highlighting lessons learned from less successful efforts. • Recommendations for strengthening partnerships and collaboration to accelerate sustainable peatland management and restoration. • Actionable strategies for enhancing capacity building initiatives and fostering inclusive stakeholder participation at all levels. • Additionally, the session will serve as an important point for ongoing dialogue among multiple stakeholders of ITPC, fostering greater cooperation in tropical peatland conservation and sustainable management
The session is open to a global, regional, and national audience, including tropical peatland countries, government representatives, international development agencies, private sector entities, civil society, and research and academic institutions, who are interested in sustainable peatland management, forest and environmental conservation, or ecological restoration.
The talk show will follow a dynamic and interactive format, designed to foster knowledge exchange and dialogue among panelists and participants. The session will include case study presentation, discussions and an interactive Q&A segment.
National Coordinator and Focal Point of Peatlands Democratic Republic of Congo
Director of the General Directorate of Climate Change and Desertification and Director (i) of the Directorate of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation, Ministry of Environment of Peru
Chief of the Mitigation Branch Climate Change Division UNEP
Deputy Director of Corporate Strategic & Relation Sinar Mas Forestry
Principal Scientist CIFOR-ICRAF
Senior Advisor to the Minister/ITPC Expert, Ministry of Forestry