Developing capacity around wetlands

New toolboxes from CIFOR’s SWAMP support better decision making about wetlands.

Mangroves, peatlands, swamps – tropical wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world and yet are some of the least understood. Communities depend on them for food security; they shelter essential fish stocks and a multitude of other species of plants and animals. Mangroves protect vulnerable coastlines from tidal surges, while their carbon stocks are among the highest of any forest type in the world. And yet, despite the contribution they can make to environmental and food security, climate adaptation and mitigation, most countries have insufficient information to include them in national climate reporting to the United Nations, and to adequately manage them.

Through the Sustainable Wetlands Adaptation and Mitigation Program (SWAMP), CIFOR is working with people in 25 countries to fill this information gap. The Program has already trained 300 people to enable them to quantify greenhouse gas emissions, develop modelling tools and build capacity among policy makers, resource management practitioners and scientific communities. It is a network of 200 scientists around the world.

“CIFOR has made a seminal contribution to below-ground carbon quantification and to putting wetlands, especially mangrove ecosystems, on the policy agenda.”

With more than 50% of tropical peatlands occurring in Indonesia, the Indonesia Peatlands Network (IPN) focuses on improving academic capacity to understand tropical peatlands, and raising awareness among policy makers of their importance.

To make resources widely available, in 2015 CIFOR released the SWAMP Toolbox and the IPN Toolbox. These e-learning modules contain presentations and videos for policy makers and the public, and use simple language to ensure information is accessible to a broad audience. IPN also provided funding for Indonesian students to study and publish on peatlands.

 

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internships
Funding partners
  • USAID
  • US Forest Service
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