In November,  a team of WCS Canada scientists presented on the importance of the northern peatlands of Canada at the COP26  Global Peatland Pavillion Summit in Glasglow. 

WATCH HERE:

Description: The world’s northern peatlands provide a global carbon service, cooling the climate by taking carbon from the atmosphere and storing it for thousands of years. One-quarter of these are in Canada, where policies, financial incentives, and accounting and reporting are inadequate to avoid the conversion and degradation of this irrecoverable carbon from pending land use change. This session will highlight the Hudson Bay Lowlands -- a homeland of Indigenous peoples and the world’s second largest peatland complex -- as a critical part of nature-based solutions to combat climate change.

Topics and Speakers:

• Introduction to the session, how the parts fit together and putting it into context for global peatlands and the climate emergency - Constance O’Connor, Conservation Scientist, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Canada

• Presenting key findings and significance thereof of the northern peatlands paper (ESA Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment) - Lorna Harris, Post-doctoral Fellow, University of Alberta

• Highlighting multiple policy implications, ranging from local to global and required actions to address policy gaps - Justina Ray, President & Senior Scientist, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Canada

• Introducing "Na Taski Nan" – a homeland and critical area for Indigenous stewardship - Vern Cheechoo, Director of Lands & Resources, Mushkegowuk Council

Panel discussion and Q&A moderated by Constance O’Connor.