Peat and Peatlands

Peat is partly decomposed plant material that accumulates under water-logged conditions over a very long time. Peatlands, natural areas covered by peat, are found in permafrost regions towards the poles and at high altitudes, in coastal areas, under tropical rainforests and in boreal forests.Although peatlands cover less than 3% all land surface, they are estimated to contain twice as much carbon as the world’s forests. That is a lot of carbon!

The 2017 Peatland Discovery in Congo

The peatlands in the Congo Basin were first discovered by researchers from the University of Leeds (in the UK) and campaigners from Greenpeace and described in the journal Natureearly in 2017. According to the article, the Congo Basin contains the largest tropical peatland complex that extends from the Republic of Congo to the DRC. The peatland, that is approximately the size of England, contains an estimated 33 billion tons (30 billion metric tonnes) of carbon buried underground in the rain forest. A freelance journalist visited the peatlands in 2018 and found that, in some places, the peat was as deep as 19.5 feet (6 meters) deep. He concluded that there may be more peat than was initially estimated.

Why we must protect the peatlands

The future of the forests where the peatlands are found is under serious threat from governments in Brazzaville and Kinshasa. In February 2018, the government of the DRC awarded more than 1,235,500 acres (500,000 hectares) of illegal logging concessions to two Chinese-owned companies which include 11,200 square miles (29,000 square kilometers) of the peatlands. Another logging firm was given a license for a1,815 square mile (4,700 square kilometer) oil palm plantation that also overlaps the peatlands.

These are obvious cases of government corruption and breaches of the 16-year suspension of new logging concessions in the area. To make the situation worse, the government has indicated that it intends to completely lift the moratorium. This has raised a lot of concern among human rights activists and conservation groups. We are also concerned, which is why we have taken this initiative to protect the peatlands and the people who live there.

Feared Effects of Logging

If the moratorium on logging is removed completely, thousands of hectares more are at risk of being destroyed. Once logging begins in the peatlands, there will be a lot of destruction of the ecosystem. Obviously, the loggers will construct roads to transport the logs. Once there is easy access:

• The forest will be cleared for agriculture leading to massive deforestation which seriously impacts the climate.
• Roads will either block the flow of water or lead to drying out of the area or soil erosion.
• The area may eventually suffer from peatland fires and carbon emissions similar to the ones that happened in Indonesiain 1997.
• Human settlements will be affected.
• Animal life in the area will be destroyed together with their environment.

Land Rights

Funding will most likely come from the U.N. Green Climate Fund and other sources, but the money will not work without the participation of local communities and indigenous people. The DRC’s Forest Code allows communities to secure legal rights to 500 square kilometers of forest that they traditionally own. Yet, only a few land titles have been granted. We want to help various communities to secure land rights to their forests because ownership is a cost-effective measure to prevent deforestation. Once people own the land, they will fight to prevent deforestation.