wise use of mires and peatlands - Peatland Ecology Research Group

132 FRAMEWORK FOR WISE USEenvironmental pollution, or where that is notpracticable, to limit, abate or reduce it. Thesystem should seek to control emissions ofpollutants into the air, and the discharge ofsolid or liquid effluent into water or theirdeposit on or in the ground, and the disposalof waste. Such legislation normally involvesthe establishment of an independent agencyto carry out the licensing and to monitor theimplementation of licence conditions.In the case of developments on peatlands, alicence should govern the emission of dustinto the air, the release of particulates intowatercourses, noise disturbance fromoperations, and other relevant matters.Licences should ensure the responsibleplanning of the after-use of cutawaypeatlands.(5) Property rights and compensation: Inany country the legal basis for ownership,and the pattern of ownership of mires andpeatlands, is fundamental to theimplementation of any Wise Use guidelines.For example, in Canada large areas of miresand peatlands are owned by the State, whichcan decide on whether or not to allow a mireor peatland be developed. In Ireland bogownership is divided between small plotsused for the extraction of sod peat fordomestic heating: a decision, for example, tocease development on a bog would haveserious income implications for large numbersof people. In Finland and Sweden mires andpeatlands are owned by landowners, wholease them to forestry developers or extractioncompanies and who naturally expect a say inwhat happens to their property. In LowerSaxony in Germany the fact that the greatmajority of peatland was in private ownershiphas dictated its distribution betweenagriculture, peat extraction and pristine mires.In Kalimantan in Indonesia the lack of definedproperty rights has left to the governmentthe power to designate/permit rights ofusage.The property and other rights of landownersand the rights of all those with an interest inland 37 should be well-defined and secure.Landowners and others with an interest inland should be fully compensated if publicpolicy interferes with their rights. Moredetailed information on patterns of propertyownership in some selected countries is givenin Appendix 4 to this document.(6) Rehabilitation of degraded peatland:The type of after-use which is appropriatefor peatlands after they cease to be used foragriculture, extraction, or forestry will varyaccording to the extent of the resource in acountry, drainage patterns and hydrologicalregime, sub-soil type and nutrient status, andsocio-economic conditions. In each locationand in each country the appropriate form ofrehabilitation should be made a licensingcondition for any new development on miresor peatlands.(7) Establishment of Protected areas:Governments can provide legal protection 38to mires and peatlands. Legislation variesfrom country to country as do its terms anddesignations. A designation available in allsignatory countries is that of Ramsar site.Among the various terms used are “SpecialAreas of Conservation” and “NaturalHeritage Areas” in the EU; “Nature Reserves”in Norway; “National Parks” and “NaturalMonuments” in Japan 39 ; “Nature Reserves”(zapovedniks) and “Wildlife Refuges andother resource areas” (zakazniks) in Russia 40 ;“National Park” in Poland 41 ; “ManagedResource Area” in Lesotho 42 . The level oflegal protection varies. Some categories ofprotected sites are set aside and activelysupervised and managed to preserve themas they are. The protection given to othersites, for example, allows licensed activitiesto take place there. Notes on the sixmanagement categories agreed by IUCN arecontained in Appendix 8.