Peatlands and people are connected by a long history of cultural development. Humans have directly utilized peatlands for thousands of years, leading to differing and varying degrees of impact.

• Peat has a global dimension. Dutch flowers grown on Lithuanian peat are exported all over the world

  Many indigenous cultures and local commUnItIes are dependent on the continued existence of peatlands, but peatlands also provide a wealth of valuable goods and services to industrial societies such as livelihood support, carbon storage, water regulation and biodiversity conservation.

• The many values of peatlands are generally poorly recognised and this is one of the root causes of degradation or avoidable conflicts about uses.

• The main human activities that impact peatlands include drainage for agriculture and forestry, land clearing and burning, grazing, peat extraction, infrastructure and urban development, reservoir construction, and pollution.

• Drainage of peatlands is one of the main root causes of peatland fires. These affect significant areas of peatlands around the world and are a major source of carbon emission from peatlands.

• Deterioration of peatlands has resulted in significant economic losses and social impacts, and has created tensions between key stakeholders at local, regional and international levels.

• Peatlands are often the last expanses of undeveloped land in public ownership, so they are increasingly targeted by developments that need large areas of land, such as airports, plantations, windfarms and reservoirs.

 

Utilisation of Peatlands For centuries, some peatlands worldwide have been used in agriculture, both for grazing and for growing crops. Large areas of tropical peatlands have in recent years been cleared and drained for food crops and cash crops such as oil palm and other plantations. Many peatlands are exploited for timber or drained for plantation forestry. Peat is being extracted for industrial and domestic fuel, as well as for use in horticulture and gardening. Peatlands also play a key role in water storage and supply, as well as in flood control.