Blog

IPS Secretariat will move

The IPS will move to a new location as our current office building is being changed to a supermarket. Our new address as of 2 April is thus: Susann Warnecke International Peatland Society (or Kansainvälinen Suoyhdistys ry) Suuruspääntie 11 C 9 40520 Jyväskylä Finland All other contact information stay the same. Please update your records. I will be busy packing and moving during the next 3-4 weeks, including our archives, so there might be some delays in replying. We kindly ask for your understanding. Susann Warnecke IPS Secretary General

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IPS analyses “Empower nature, climate and future now!” Antwerp Statement

Statement of the IPS to the Declaration of the “Power to the Peatlands” conference 19th to 21st September 2023, Antwerp, Belgium The Power to the Peatlands conference took place in Antwerp on September 19-21, 2023. It had 547 attendants on site, and around 140 online. Participants joined from 29 European countries, and additionally 17 from countries outside of Europe. At the end of this conference, a declaration to Empower nature, climate and future now! was agreed by 80 of the participants calling for joint urgent action to safeguard peatlands in...

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Preparation of IPS Elections 2024

Update 8 March We extend the deadline for the Presidents and Commission Chair nominations to 4 April, which is, following our Statutes and Internal Regulations, four months before the Assembly. The Executive Board will also meet on 21 March, and in person on 11 April in Helsinki to discuss this challenging situation. The timing allows National Committees to get familiar with all candidates and decide internally whom to support. Invitations and documents to the Assembly, including CVs, will be sent to you 60-40 days before the Assembly. Especially the President...

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Örjan Berglund First Scientific Officer for the International Peatland Society

PRESS RELEASE On the occasion of World Wetlands Day 2023 Örjan Berglund First Scientific Officer for the International Peatland Society Dr Örjan Berglund from Sweden has been appointed as first Scientific Officer (SO) of the International Peatland Society (IPS). He will support the Scientific Advisory Board, Executive Board and Secretariat by gathering and communicating data and knowledge on peatlands and peat from the global and regional perspectives. Dr Berglund will start on 1 March 2023, based in Uppsala, Sweden, where he will continue to work also for the Swedish University...

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Susann Warnecke new Secretary General of International Peatland Society

The Executive Board of the International Peatland Society (IPS) has appointed Ms Susann Warnecke as new IPS Secretary General as of 10 October 2022. The position is permanent and is best described as the "smooth running of the society", including administration, finances and communications as well as strategic development and member management. [caption id="attachment_7980" align="alignleft" width="400"] Photo by Henriikka Koskinen, Foto-Antti Vaajakoski[/caption] Ms Warnecke was born in 1975 and grew up in Germany until she moved to Finland as an exchange student to study Global Business Management in 1999, and...

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Peat stakeholders discuss challenges of the sector in Riga

PRESS RELEASE Almost 300 interested guests from 17 countries, representing different stakeholders in the peat sector, met in Riga, Latvia for the 20th Baltic Peat Producers’ Forum (BPPF) this week, 14 - 15 September 2022. Background The peat sector is under pressure from climate policy measures, even though it accounts for a relatively small proportion of peat-related emissions. Despite the increasing global demand for peat products, peat extraction is concentrated in just a few countries, among which the Baltic countries have long-standing traditions and are remarkable exporters today. Peatlands play...

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New Executive Board Elected

The IPS has elected a new Executive Board at its Annual Assembly. Members are: 2022-2024 Marko Pomerants, President Guus van Berckel, the Netherlands, 1st VP Jack Rieley, UK, 2nd VP Donal Clarke, Ireland Asha Hingorani, Canada Giedrius Kavaliauskas, Lithuania Tuija Vähäkuopus, Finland 2022-2026 Bernd Hofer, Germany Sabine Jordan, Sweden Anna-Helena Purre, Estonia Meng Wang, China Congratulations! At the same meeting, the Assembly approved budget and membership fees 2022-2023, including the funding and implementation of the Position Paper "Embracing Change".

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IPS Response to Russian Aggression in Ukraine

Statement by the Executive Board To download the statement as PDF file: https://peatlands.org/document/eb-statement-ukraine The International Peatland Society is deeply concerned about the ongoing military and political Russian aggression against the sovereign and independent state of Ukraine, supported by Belarus. All three countries have or have had members in the IPS, and cooperation has been fruitful over more than fifty decades, on professional as well as personal level. We have often stated that the IPS provided a bridge between countries even during the Cold War and that is has been excellent...

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Executive Board Elections 2022

Wanted: Five New Executive Board members! IPS National Committees are kindly asked to submit their nominations for the IPS Executive Board (EB) until 7 February 2022. At least five positions will be vacant. Formally, a nomination letter and CV are required, also for current EB members that would like to be re-elected. Leaving EB members are: Sabine Jordan, Sweden Ingrida Krigere, Latvia (30 Dec) Lulie Melling, Malaysia Erki Niitlaan, Estonia Frank Tamminga, Germany The following EB members keep their positions until 2024: Marko Pomerants, Estonia, President Guus van Berckel, the...

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More exciting facts on Peat and Peatlands

The IPS offers further resources on its website, via its publications, events, commissions and expert groups. Do not hesitate to contact us or join us as a member! The following documents and videos were provided by our  members especially for COP26: Videos Documents Links [caption id="attachment_7537" align="alignleft" width="990"] Photo by Maksim Shutov[/caption]        

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