CIFOR

By Gabrielle Lipton, originally posted on Forests News Indonesia – The sky turned yellow just before the 2015 peatland fires reached their height in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Then it turned dark, like a phantom’s mask covering the island of Borneo with thick, humid brown haze. The particles in the air were so dense that people’s eyes […]

By Kate Evans, originally posted on Forests News Indonesia – New tools and new discoveries are drastically altering our existing knowledge of peatlands. Scientists have recently discovered the existence of huge, previously unknown areas of peatland in central Africa and South America – and the numbers are quite astonishing. A new map developed by the Center […]

How old is old growth in Borneo? 130 million years. Almost 80 percent of the island of Borneo was covered with this old growth rainforest in 1973. Today, only 28 percent remains. Barely bigger than France, Borneo’s rainforests are packed with more rare and fascinating species than almost anywhere else in the world. However, Borneo […]

How the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could bring a recently-discovered peatland into its REDD process By Bill Hinchberger, originally posted on Forests News Congo Basin – The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has long been known for the biodiversity and carbon storage capacity of its vast forests. Now, there is a need to explore the […]

Peat is made up of partly decomposed vegetation and is formed over centuries in anaerobic, waterlogged conditions. Peat has been on our planet for around 360 million years.

Do you think you have what it takes to be a youth delegate or a social reporter at the Peatlands Matter event in Jakarta? And, can you clear your schedule from May 16 – 18? We’re looking for tomorrow’s journalists, scientists and policymakers who are passionate about peatlands, gathering the best and brightest from Indonesia and beyond to […]