Just 17% of peatlands worldwide are protected, according to a new study, despite the fact that they hold more carbon than all the world’s forests. Peatlands are waterlogged accumulations of dead, partly decomposed vegetation, and are scattered widely from the northern latitudes through temperate zones to the equatorial tropics. The new maps show that more than 25% of peatlands overlap with Indigenous territories, an area of some 1.1 million square kilometers (about 425,000 square miles); much of that land doesn’t overlap with other forms of protection, providing an opportunity to keep peatlands intact through the strengthening of Indigenous land rights. Read the full article by John Cannon: https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/only-17-of-peatlands-vital-to-curbing-climate-change-are-protected-study-finds/