Organiser: IUCN UK National Committee - Peatland Programme
The session is designed to inspire and share lessons from over a decade of conservation action for peatlands that has led to a step-change in awareness, political and financial support and habitat restoration. Many of the lessons are relevant to other strategic or national conservation initiatives. There will be an opportunity for delegates to ask questions and discuss next steps for the WCC.
The IUCN UK Peatland Programme is a high impact initiative that has led to large scale restoration for nature and climate outcomes across the UK for over ten years. The programme has been governed through a combination of National Committee, government, NGO and scientific partners to address solutions to policy, practice and science culminating in ongoing delivery of a UK Peatland Strategy (https://www.iucn-uk-peatlandprogramme.org/uk-strategy). Resource constraints were identified as a barrier to restoration at a national scale. The IUCN UK Peatland Programme developed the Peatland Code (https://www.iucn-uk-peatlandprogramme.org/peatland-code-0) as a response to help leverage private finance to facilitate high quality nature based solutions. Over 250 projects have been registered so far with potential emissions savings of over 7million tCO2e.
AGENDA
Introduction - Stuart Brooks, Director of Conservation and Policy, National Trust for Scotland and Chair of IUCN UK Peatland Programme
Governance – how the unique membership of IUCN across governments, NGOs and individuals (committees and commissions) has been integral to the founding and ongoing good governance of the programme. Leader: Dr Rob Stoneman, Director of Landscape Recovery, The Wildlife Trusts. Vice-chair IUCN UK Peatland Programme
Strategy – how we formulated a national strategy, with buy-in from governments and key stakeholders. How we have used the strategy as a basis for reporting progress and helping to drive country level plans and policies. Dr Emma Hinchliffe, Director IUCN UK Peatland Programme
Communications – how the programme has built, engaged and maintained a wide community of interest and how partnerships have been forged within the civic space, wider UK and internationally. Jane Ackerman, IUCN UK Peatland Programme Manager
Finance & Innovation – how the programme has worked with scientists, policy makers and economists to agree standards and creation of the Peatland Code, a mechanism to drive conservation at scale through leverage of private finance. Dr Renée Kerkvliet-Hermans, Peatland Code Manager, IUCN UK Peatland Programme
Discussion and Next Steps: Summary of key lessons, questions and discussion with speakers and open discussion about how to maximise the impact of the programme’s achievements beyond the UK and through the IUCN World Conservation Congress.