National peatland strategies and peatland restoration opportunities for climate action

The event will be held on the Zoom platform. The Zoom link will be sent before the meeting via email, for those who registered.

Please, register here: https://forms.gle/3Kxqajnca2mkvikRA

Please note, that the language of the event is English.

Date: 15 November 2023, 10:00-15:00

Project

Building the European Peatlands Initiative: A Strong Alliance for Peatland Climate Protection in Europe

Description

The workshop primarily targets peatland protection and restoration experts, as well as other interested stakeholders from the Central and Eastern European region, with the aim to, on the one hand, provide insight into the relevant policy measures and future opportunities of the European Union and selected Member States and, on the other hand, to provide an opportunity for discussing emerging questions and formulating recommendations on the protection and restoration of peatlands.

Target groups

Central and Eastern European peatland experts - nature conservationists - representatives of national ministries - representatives of research institutes - representatives of NGOs - site managers, farmers/landowners

Agenda

Moderator: Orsolya Nyárai (CEEweb for Biodiversity)

10:00 Welcome & short introduction of CEEweb - Csaba Mezei - General Secretary (CEEweb for Biodiversity)

10:05 Introducing the event and the agenda - Orsolya Nyárai - Head of Policy & Agricultural Policy Officer (CEEweb for Biodiversity)

10:10 Introducing the EUKI Peatlands project - Marina Škunca - Project Officer (Eurosite - the European Land Conservation Network)

10:20 Introducing the European Peatlands Initiative - Lisa Wiatschka - Innovation Consultant - Wetlands, Agriculture & Climate Change (Bax & Company)

10:35 Word cloud, voting on relevant questions, presenting results

10:45 Presenting the preliminary results of Central and Eastern European peatland strategies assessment - Orsolya Nyárai - Head of Policy & Agricultural Policy Officer (CEEweb for Biodiversity)

11:00 Coffe break

11:10 A Green Deal for European Peatlands: discussing enabling factors and challenges - Elise Vitali - Peatlands Policy Officer (Wetlands International Europe)

11:30 Hungary’s current approach, policies and future plans towards protecting and restoring peatlands - Gábor Takács - Nature Conservation Officer (Fertő-Hanság National Park Directorate)

11:45 National policies for peatland protection and restoration in Estonia - Martin Küttim - Researcher in peatland ecology and restoration (Tallinn University, Estonia)

12:00 Questions & Answers

12:10 Lunch break

13:00 Introducing the afternoon sessions

13:05 From policy to practice to policy: Experiences from Germany - Jan Peters - Managing Director (Michael Succow Foundation, Partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre)

13:20 Breakout rooms for formulating recommendations

Room 1: Gaps and weaknesses in national peatland strategies

Room 2: The use of participatory methods in national policymaking for peatlands

Room 3: The potential of the EU Nature Restoration Law and national restoration projects for peatlands

13:50 Reporting back from the breakout session (5 min/room)

14:05 Coffee break

14:15 Panel discussion: Challenges and opportunities in EU and national policymaking and action for peatlands

14:45 Questions & Answers

14:55 Conclusions, next steps & closing of the meeting

The project “Building the European Peatlands Initiative: a strong alliance for peatland climate protection in Europe”  is part of the European Climate Initiative (EUKI). EUKI is a project financing instrument by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). The EUKI competition for project ideas is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. It is the overarching goal of the EUKI to foster climate cooperation within the European Union (EU) in order to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.