On 22 July 2026, Peru’s Ministry of the Environment (MINAM) together with the UN Biodiversity Lab, the Global Peatlands Initiative, UNEP, UNDP and the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, held a virtual knowledge exchange on tropical peatlands, with live interpretation in Spanish and English. The session brought together technical officers from MINAM and Peruvian research institutions to strengthen national capacity to identify, map, monitor and manage tropical peatlands and their carbon stores.

The exchange was a direct response to a request that the Government of Peru, through MINAM, submitted to the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership’s MatchMaking Mechanism (MMM), seeking technical training and assistance on peatlands. MINAM had identified peatlands as a national priority, and the request followed the 4th Partners Meeting of the Global Peatlands Initiative, held in Lima.

The MMM connected Peru’s request with specialist institutions already working on peatland science and spatial data. The result reflected the purpose of the MMM: to connect member countries with specialist partners that can support the implementation of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).

Peatlands are among the densest carbon stores on the planet. Tropical peatlands cover roughly 0.3 per cent of global land area yet hold around six per cent of all soil carbon, stored underground and kept stable by a high water table. Once that water table is lowered through drainage, the peat begins to oxidise and the system shifts from a carbon store to a carbon source, becoming increasingly vulnerable to fire.

In Peru, the largest known deposits are believed to lie in the Pastaza-Marañón basin, where peat-forming ecosystems are dominated by floodplain forests and palm swamps. Understanding where this peat is, how deep it runs and what is happening to it is therefore essential both for biodiversity conservation and measuring, reporting and verifying the carbon these systems hold.

The session focused on the data and tools available today. Participants were shown how global and national datasets can be viewed and compared side by side in a web browser without specialised software. They explored how peat thickness, carbon density and carbon stock estimates can be generated for any area of interest in Peru from the national level to a single locality, and exported for use in policy briefs. 

Two points ran through the discussion. First, national data matters: Peru’s national ecosystems map is considerably more precise than global layers, which can misclassify areas. Second, peat is effectively invisible to satellites, so models produce a probability of peat rather than a definitive map, and reliable figures require field sampling alongside remote sensing. The carbon and thickness figures were presented with an uncertainty value attached, and treated throughout as estimates.

Participants also explored how overlaying peat data with information on human pressure and tree cover loss helps distinguish intact peat that can still be protected from peat that is already degrading. These data layers support measurement, reporting and verification, as well as early warning of where intervention is most urgent.

The session was framed as an introduction to the data, methods and applications. Peru will continue to pursue peat mapping activities in the coming months as it puts into practice the session’s lessons. In addition, two technical questions raised during the session were referred to peatland specialists for written follow-up, which will help to continue the conversation. 

As Peru advances its peatland mapping efforts, the knowledge exchange has established a foundation for continued technical collaboration and stronger evidence-based management of one of the country’s most important carbon-rich ecosystems.

The exchange demonstrates how the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership’s MatchMaking Mechanism can help countries quickly access specialised expertise when national priorities emerge. By connecting technical institutions with practitioners and global partners, the mechanism helps strengthen the knowledge and capacity needed to support effective NBSAP implementation.