Ministry, IUCN partner to identify and map peatlands in Laos

Areas of peatlands across Laos will be identified, assessed and mapped by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in partnership with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Peatlands in Laos have not yet been fully inventoried or described in detail, which leaves them vulnerable to exploitation and degradation, so two projects have been designed to help conserve and sustainably manage peatland ecosystem resources across the country.
Peatlands are a type of wetland that are formed from partially decomposed plant materials (roots, leaves, stems etc.) that have accumulated over long periods of time, sometimes over thousands of years.

Environmental officials discuss ideas at the peatland symposium in Vientiane province.

The two projects are the Sustainable Management of Peatland Ecosystems in Mekong Countries (the Mekong Peatlands Project), implemented in Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF); and the Sustainable Use of Peatlands and Haze Mitigation in Asean (SUPA) Component 1 Programme, being implemented across the Asean region.
The SUPA Component 1 is co-funded by the European Union and the Government of Germany.
Laos’ first ever Symposium on Peatlands took place in Viengkham district, Vientiane province, from January 21-22, attended by Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Mr Chanthaneth Boualapha.
The event gathered 70 participants from Laos and other countries, including community leaders, to discuss ways to improve the management of peatland ecosystems in Laos.
There are two regional peatland projects currently being implemented by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, in partnership with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Experts from IUCN, DWR, the Wildlife Conservation Association of Laos (WCA), the National University of Laos (NUOL), and the Centre for Development and Environment were present and shared their experiences of peatland projects and the research currently being undertaken in Laos.
Speaking at the event, Mr Chanthaneth said “As peatland management is a new experience for Laos, there is an urgent need to incorporate peatlands into existing policies and laws and develop specific regulations so that peatlands are recognised, conserved and managed sustainably.”
IUCN’s Chief Technical Advisor Dr Peter Hanington said “The current interest in peatlands in Laos is a result of commitments made by the government under several Asean agreements that focus on improving peatland management and reducing haze pollution in the region.”
“Major haze pollution events occurred in 2015 and 2019 that were a direct result of major peatland fires in the region.”
“Another important reason for the interest in peatlands is the fact that they store a significant amount of carbon. There is more carbon contained in peatlands across the globe than all of the world’s above-ground forests all combined. Maintaining these carbon stores in their natural condition plays an important role in the global effort to combat climate change,” he added.
Meeting participants visited a nearby peatland in Nong Youp and Nonsavang villages of Viengkham  district, where they learnt how to identify peat soils, what techniques are used for sampling peat soils, and how peatlands are surveying and mapped using a combination of ground surveys and drones.
The peatland at Nong Youp is likely to be several thousand years old, with recent surveys having identified peat at depths of up to 3 to 4 metres below the ground surface. Peat typically accumulates at a rate of 0.5 to 2 millimetres per year, according to the IUCN.
There are two different peatlands, Nong Phangdeng and Nong Khouy, located near Nong Youp but they are very young peatlands with a layer of peat only around 10 or 12 centimetres in depth.
The peat layers there have developed on the surface of the lake as “floating” peat mats. Locals say these floating peat mats only started appearing in 1988.
Both Nong Youp and Nong Phangdeng peatlands were recently assessed for their biodiversity values by an expert team from the DWR, WCA, NUOL and IUCN, with the results to be published in the coming weeks.
Further studies with a focus on carbon storage, water management and community use are underway and will help to document the values and functions of these two important peatland ecosystems. 
The symposium also focused on discussions on peatland management and sustainable use of peatland resources that was shared by Vientiane and Champassak PONREs, and Global Environment Centre, based in Malaysia.
The presentations topic was the urgent need for Laos to strengthen peatland governance and regulations at national and sub-national levels to improve the recognition, conservation and management of peatlands.
All participants was allowed to discuss and prioritise activities under the various projects and programmes over the course of 2022.
To date, SUPA Component 1 is providing assistance to DWR to map potential peatlands starting in the provinces of Vientiane and Champassak. It plans to focus on other provinces such as Attapeu, Savannakhet, Khammuan, and Borikhamxay, where peatlands and either known and/or likely to exist.
In addition to peatland mapping, GIZ is open to provide other technical support within the scope of SUPA Component 1.
GIZ would like to encourage and invite any potential stakeholders from Laos for further discussion to support future potential activities.
Under Component 2 of SUPA, the People for Peat Programme outlined opportunities for Lao NGOs and the private sector to be involved in peatlands, through their Peatland Businesses Hub.
Already two research projects funded by People for Peat are being implemented by NUOL and CDE in Champassak province and Vientiane. SUPA Component 2 extended the application to the Business Hub Accelerator Programme to interested projects operating on peatlands in Laos.
The Symposium noted that the key areas for further actions throughout 2022 are to: complete peatland surveys to support the mapping of peatlands across Laos; strengthen peatland management though mainstreaming peatland actions into policies, strategies and management frameworks; improve the livelihoods of communities living and using peatland resources; and build local capacity and awareness of the values of peatlands, and the need to conserve and sustainably manage peatland resources. 
--Source IUCN

(Latest Update February 2, 2021)