September 07, 2024
Author: Trésor Daniel MEFIRE
Country: Cameroon
Photo credit: IRD le Mag Website
SUMMARY
Bogs, covering around 3-4 % of land, are powerhouses in the fight against climate change. They store a staggering amount of carbon - twice what all forests combined hold. This peat soil acts as a natural archive, preserving organic matter for millennia. Bogs also provide clean water, shelter diverse wildlife, and support local communities. However, human activities like draining and burning bogs for agriculture threaten their existence. These actions release vast amounts of carbon dioxide, accelerating climate change. Bog loss also harms biodiversity and disrupts water cycles.
Protecting and restoring bogs is vital. Restoring drained bogs can significantly reduce emissions. Raising awareness, stricter regulations, and involving local communities are crucial steps. Bogs are irreplaceable allies in our fight for a sustainable future. We must act now to preserve them.
BACKGROUND
Why are Cameroon's mangroves disappearing?
Introduction
The bog is a natural environment that is very poor in oxygen and comprises peat and water. Peat is a soil characterized by its high organic matter content, little, or not decomposed. Bogs are ecosystems with a unique type of peat soil. Although they are relatively rare, covering only around 3-4% of the planet's land surface, they contain up to a third of the world's soil carbon (UNEP, 2022). That's twice as much as all the forests in the world combined (UNEP, 2018). On an equal surface area, they store 2 times more carbon than forests. The Congo Basin is home to one of the largest tropical peatlands in the world, storing approximately 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon each year (UNEP, 2023).
I. Importance of Bogs
They are the memory of our environment because they preserve for thousands of years, the organic matter, the pollens, the seeds, and some extinct animals. Bogs cover approximately 3% of the Earth's land surface, but store around 30% of the world's soil carbon (UNEP, 2020). They are a natural refuge with a rich and varied biodiversity and are home to threatened and endangered animals like elephants, lowland gorillas, and bonobos. Local communities depend on the enormous services (food, cultural, therapeutic, hydrological) they provide. Indeed, the bogs of the Congo Basin which are among the cleanest and the biggest in the tropics contain more than 30 billion tons of carbon (Canon and al., 2023). That's the equivalent of the carbon that the United States emits by burning fossil fuels for 20 years (Canon and al., 2023). Similarly, in addition to the fact that they fight against floods, they store nearly 1.5 billion tons of carbon each year (UNEP, 2023).
II. Threats to bogs
Even though they store 30% of the carbon on our planet, making them a significant contributor to global carbon cycling (IPCC, 2019). On an equal surface area, they store two times more carbon than all forests (UNEP, 2020). They represent a vital ecosystem for millions of people. However, bogs are in danger. In addition to climate change, which increases extreme weather events, human activities are the main threat to this environment. Indeed, they are drained for agropastoral activities, the monoculture of oil palms, peat is used as an alternative to firewood, and forestry, oil, and agricultural companies don’t hesitate to overexploit this extremely rich wetland. This is the case in Cameroon. Where the Lainde Massa bog, a particular ecosystem (wetland located in the Sahelian environment), that contains lost 98% of its area due to the demographic boom and agro-pastoral activities (WSSG, 2019).
III. Consequences posed by bogs’ destruction
Unfortunately, bogs, contrary to their primary functions have become a significant source of carbon emissions. Current greenhouse gas emissions from the drying or burning of bogs represent up to 5% (IPCC, 2019) of all emissions due to human activities, equivalent to nearly 2 billion tons of CO2 (Canon and al., 2023). The repetitive drain of this environment and the use of fires to develop it with a view of practicing agriculture leads to a release into the atmosphere of toxic substances and a gigantic quantity of carbon, which promotes the propensity of respiratory diseases, further contributes to global warming and in turn to climate change.
IV. Solutions to bogs’ destruction
There is an urgent need to take action to ensure that the carbon-locked-in bogs stay there. Peatland restoration can be a highly effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Rewetting drained peatlands can reduce emissions by up to 90% (Joosten and al., 2012).
Therefore, it is a question of raising awareness and educating national and international opinion on the importance, fragility, and consequences of the loss of this ecosystem, of adopting strict laws and regulations, of putting in place sustainable management practices and restoration. Finally, it is a question of involving local communities in the conservation and restoration of this environment by relying on their traditional environmental knowledge.
Conclusion
Through its services such as the production of drinking water, ecological archive, and leading ecosystem in terms of carbon stock, bogs are one of our best allies and potentially one of our quickest victories in the fight against climate change it is now more than urgent to preserve this extremely precious environment, to better manage its use and to establish these zones as Protected Areas.
REFERENCES
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United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). (2018). Protecting peatlands, protecting the planet. DOI: https://www.unep.org/fr/actualites-et-recits/recit/proteger-les-tourbieres-proteger-la-planete.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). (2020). Essential ecosystems: the peatlands of the Congo Basin. DOI: https://www.unep.org/fr/actualites-et-recits/recit/des-ecosystemes-essentiels-les-tourbieres-du-bassin-du-congo#:~:text=La%20for%C3%AAt%20mar%C3%A9cageuse%20tourbeuse%20du,dioxyde%20de%20carbone%20par%20an.
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Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2019). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). DOI: https://www.ipcc.ch/
Joosten, H., Turetsky, M. R., and Lim, M. (2012). Peatland restoration for climate change mitigation. Nature Climate Change, 2(11). 844-845.
Canon, J., Tores, L., and Indrayatno, H., 2023. Les tourbières du Bassin du Congo. Mongabay Explique. Greenpeace Indonésie. UNEP. DOI: youtu.be/peH49CLOcQk?si=XS-8i0QBeluxnj5n.
Wildlife Specialist School of Garoua. 2019. Field Work Report. 10 Pages.
Dracnature. 2019. Peatlands: the most efficient terrestrial ecosystems for long-term carbon storage. DOI: https://dracnature.fr/les-tourbières-ecosystèmes-terrestre-le-plus-efficace-dans-le-stockage-du-carbone-sur-le-long-terme/
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