Unheard community stories – mainstreaming indigenous, grassroots, and youth experiences in peatlands conservation efforts

Peatland conservation is currently a hot topic on international environmental agendas, from the launch of Indonesia’s Peatland Restoration Agency to the initiation of the Global Peatlands Initiative. Yet peatland ecosystems have been cared for and inhabited for centuries by different indigenous communities; however, their efforts and knowledge do not often receive a generous spotlight. This grassroots knowledge of local peatland contexts and conservation efforts holds great potential for informing scaled-up conservation efforts in other contexts.

In the Peruvian Amazon, bosquesinos (forest farmers) have mastered agricultural, land use and fishery adaptation efforts in response to changing peatland landscapes while prioritizing biodiversity and the care-taking of their lands. On the other side of the globe, indigenous youth in Central Kalimantan are spearheading conservation efforts that invigorate local economies through public health initiatives in response to peatland fires, and through public education, awareness-raising and advocacy campaigns.

The Global Landscapes Forum puts communities first in addressing landscape-level issues. With science and traditional knowledge at the core, GLF events are designed not only to spark dialogue but also follow-through to impact in addressing some of the most complex and multi-stakeholder problems facing our Earth and our communities. Peatlands conservation and indigenous knowledge and rights are deeply interrelated themes, and with the launch of the Global Peatlands Initiative at the GLF in Marrakesh in 2016, the push towards best practices in these areas has emerged as a movement within the broader GLF movement.

Experts from the Peruvian Amazon and Central Kalimantan will give updates on their local contexts and efforts while showcasing their traditional peatland conservation and care-taking knowledge in order to inform scaling up at broader levels.

This Digital Summit is a collaborative effort: our panel of experts worked together to share their experiences and approaches, their trials and errors.

We will give ample opportunity for all Digital Summit participants to join in the discussion, either to share their own experiences, hints and tricks, or to ask questions of the speakers, or the entire group.

 

Background

The Global Landscapes Forum puts communities first in addressing landscape-level issues. With science and traditional knowledge at the core, GLF events are designed not only to spark dialogue but also follow-through to impact in addressing some of the most complex and multi-stakeholder problems facing our Earth and our communities. Peatlands conservation and indigenous knowledge and rights are deeply interrelated themes, and with the launch of the Global Peatlands Initiative at the GLF in Marrakesh in 2016, the push towards best practices in these areas has emerged as a movement within the broader GLF movement.

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