The Global Peatlands Initiative: Advancing South-South Cooperation for Peatlands

Peatlands, despite being biodiversity hotspots and critical carbon sinks, are under intense threat. Agriculture, urbanisation, deforestation and industrial activities are putting them, and the essential ecosystem services they provide, at risk everywhere.

The Global Peatlands Initiative (GPI) is a multi-partner effort led by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and financed by IKI with the mission to protect peatlands for people, nature and the planet.

UNEP, the GPI, and its partners are currently developing a 10-Year Peatlands Strategy to guide global efforts to conserve, restore and sustainably manage peatlands. This strategy is being co-developed through a two-year collaborative process, ensuring that it is inclusive, action-oriented and aligned with national and international priorities. In complement, UNEP and partners are driving the Peatland Breakthrough; a call-to-action to bring together public and private stakeholders around a shared vision for peatlands by setting global targets and ambitions. This combined approach aims to provide a clear and coordinated framework for scaling up conservation efforts, aligning with international agreements and supporting countries in meeting their commitments under Ramsar, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and the Paris Agreement.

This side event brings together Contracting Parties, the project donor, GPI partners, and key stakeholders to share ambitions to advance peatland policy, practice and partnerships, exchange best practices and lessons learned, and actively contribute to shaping the next phase of the 10-year Peatland Strategy. It also serves as a stepping stone toward shaping the Peatlands Strategy and preparing for major global milestones, such as Ramsar COP15, UNEA-7, the UNFCCC COP30 in Brazil, and progress reviews under the UNEP Medium-Term Strategy 2022–2025 and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

This event is led by the Ministry of the Environment, Peru, who, since 2023, and with the proud support of the GPI, has officially included its Amazonian peatlands (Ramsar site) in its NDCs. This represents a major achievement for Peru's and the world's peatlands, enabling the conservation and sustainable management of 2.5 million hectares of peatlands for a mitigation period of 2023-2030. Across the world, peatlands remain under-recognized and require urgent scientific attention and policy inclusion. Representatives from key peatland regions, such as Asia (Mongolia, Indonesia), Latin America (Peru, Colombia) and Africa (DR Congo, Congo) will showcase emerging opportunities and ambitions to tackle peatland protection, conservation and sustainable management. The event also highlights the value of South–South and Triangular Cooperation with initiatives, such as the IKI Congo Basin Peatlands Project, GEF project “Building human well-being and resilience in Amazonian forests through the valorization of biodiversity for food security and bio-businesses, in the context of climate change” (ASL2) and GEF-7/8 Congo Forest Integrated Programme, demonstrating how regional leadership and peer learning can drive integrated approaches to peatland and landscape management.

Through dynamic dialogue on priority areas, key challenges, and emerging opportunities, the event aims to ensure that the strategy is grounded in real-world needs and positioned for impactful implementation at both national and international levels. Discussions will also focus on how to build upon South-South cooperation, mobilise investment partnerships, and elevate the profile of peatlands within global resilience and restoration efforts.