The Wetland Soils and Greenhouse Gas Exchange Lab is happy to announce the official start of Can-Peat: Canada’s peatlands as nature-based solutions to climate change. Can-Peat is funded through the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund. Administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada, $15.8 million is being allocating to six University of Waterloo research projects to identify solutions to environmental challenges. Nationally the CAAF funding was part of a $58 million announcement by Minister Guilbeault for research projects that will advance science and technology to combat climate change.
Over its 5-year-long lifespan, Can-Peat will quantify the potential of peatland management in Canada to contribute to climate change mitigation. This research will support building a sustainable net-zero emissions economy by 2050. Specific Can-Peat objectives are to:
- Create a Canadian peatland research network
- Compile a database on Canadian peatland C stocks, GHG exchange, and supporting data
- Advance models of peatland C cycling from site to national scale and use these models to evaluate future peatland GHG uptake or emission under changing climate and disturbance regimes
- Investigate mechanisms to implement peatland NbS in Canada and develop a decision-support framework for peatland management
- Communicate findings to partners and provide the tools needed for climate-friendly peatland management and GHG emission reporting related to these activities.
We will be launching a website with more details coming soon. In the meantime, you can read more about the project here: