Global Peatlands Assessment, Peatland Atlas, GPI Research Working Group
UNEP’s GPI works to provide evidence for action toward the conservation, restoration and sustainable management of peatlands.
Despite their important roles for nature, climate and people, peatlands are often misunderstood, undervalued, and underinvested. To address this, the GPI brings together the latest science to inform policies, decisions, research and actions and is building the evidence base to establish the state of the world’s peatlands.
To provide a better understanding of what peatlands are, where they are found, what condition they are in and how actions can be taken to protect, restore and sustainably manage them, the Global Peatlands Assessment (GPA) was created. The GPA is the most comprehensive assessment of peatlands to date. It has been developed by the GPI, supported by a group of 226 peatland experts from all regions of the globe to establish the state of the world’s peatlands.
In September 2023, the Peatland Atlas 2023 was launched, as another publication to amplify the results of the GPA by offering accessible insights into the challenges and potential solutions for peatlands. The user-friendly platform translates complex data into actionable steps, fostering a wider dialogue among policymakers, stakeholders, and the public. This publication was led by the Michael Succow Stiftung, partner of the Greifswald Mire Centre, BUND - Friends of the Earth Germany and the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, in cooperation with the Global Peatland Initiative, and contributes to a broad social debate on challenges and solutions for peatland conservation, restoration, and sustainable management in Europe and globally.
The Global Peatlands Initiative Research Working Group was established in 2019 by SRUC and UNEP. It aims at building capacity among the peatland research community and identifying international research funding opportunities for peatlands. The goal is to develop a programme of research that can be funded by multiple national and international funders aligned with the goals of the UN system (leveraging complementary funding where possible), and that is integrated and coordinated at the global scale, enabling the research community to contribute to the global goals of the GPI and draw conclusions from their research of wider international significance.
