Brazil Moves Towards Champion Country Role in the Peatland Breakthrough
Brazil is taking important steps towards becoming a Champion Country of the Peatland Breakthrough, a global initiative launched at COP30 in Belém to accelerate peatland conservation, restoration and sustainable management worldwide.
The development follows discussions within Brazil’s National Committee for Wetlands (CNZU), which has issued a recommendation for Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment (MMA) to formally endorse the Peatland Breakthrough and explore taking on a Champion Country role. The recommendation signals a growing recognition of peatlands within Brazil’s wetland governance framework. By bringing peatlands onto the agenda of the National Committee for Wetlands (CNZU), the discussion elevates these ecosystems as a national priority for climate action, biodiversity conservation and water security.
Brazil hosts the world’s largest known extent of tropical peatlands, covering approximately 226,000 km² across the Amazon, Cerrado, Pantanal, Atlantic Forest, Pampa and coastal regions. Despite their global importance, peatlands remain largely absent from Brazil’s environmental legislation, greenhouse gas reporting and national climate policy.
“This is great news for the global peatland community – catalysed by the climate conference COP30 in Belem, exchange with peatland scientists and conservationists in Brazil intensified and we are excited and very grateful for the country’s interest and commitment to join global peatland action.” said Dr Franziska Tanneberger, director of the Greifswald Mire Centre, who was invited to the National Committee for Wetlands meeting.
Peatlands cover just 3–4% of Earth’s land surface but store up to one-third of global soil organic carbon—twice as much as all the world’s forest biomass. Scientists estimate that Brazil’s peatlands contain billions of tonnes of carbon and play a critical role in regulating water cycles and supporting biodiversity. These ecosystems face increasing pressures from drainage, agricultural expansion, fire, infrastructure development and hydrological changes.
A growing scientific community in Brazil is also calling for stronger action. An open letter signed by 53 Brazilian researchers urges policymakers to recognize peatlands as priority ecosystems, develop a national peatland programme, strengthen mapping and monitoring efforts, integrate peatlands into climate policies and expand restoration and rewetting initiatives.
The recommendations align closely with the Science-based Framework for Global Peatland Targets and Guiding Principles, launched at COP30 as part of the Peatland Breakthrough. The framework sets global targets for halting peatland loss, restoring degraded peatlands and enabling sustainable use, while emphasizing the role of peatlands in climate mitigation, biodiversity protection and resilient livelihoods.
For Brazil, endorsement of the Peatland Breakthrough would represent an opportunity to strengthen international cooperation, improve national monitoring and reporting systems, and advance the integration of peatlands into climate, biodiversity, and water policies.
“The recommendation issued by the National Committee for Wetlands reflects Brazil’s growing recognition of peatlands as strategic ecosystems for climate regulation, biodiversity conservation, and water security. The Peatland Breakthrough provides an important opportunity to strengthen international cooperation, mobilize technical expertise, and support the development of national actions for the protection and restoration of Brazilian peatlands,” Dr. Suelma Ribeiro Silva from the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), a federal agency under Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment.
With the endorsement, Brazil would join Peru, Uganda, and Germany among the countries taking a leadership role in advancing the Peatland Breakthrough.
About the Peatland Breakthrough
The Peatland Breakthrough is a global call to action led by Wetlands International, the United Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the Greifswald Mire Centre, developed in close alignment with the Global Peatlands Initiative, and in collaboration with the Convention on Wetlands. The growing list of partners includes: Global Environment Centre, Landscape Finance Lab, RE-PEAT, and The Nature Conservancy.
The Peatland Breakthrough charts a clear path forward through three global targets:
- Halt the anthropogenic loss of undrained peatlands by 2030.
- By 2030, at least 30 million hectares of peatlands will be rewetted and restored.
- By 2030, enabling conditions for sustainable, wise use will be developed, and by 2050, it is implemented on all peatlands.
Achieving these targets would allow global peatlands to reach net-zero emissions and even become a net greenhouse-gas sink, helping support climate-resilient pathways. To meet the Global Peatland Targets and deliver on global climate targets, we need to mobilize at least 100 billion USD by 2030 in just, transparent, and accessible finance for peatlands, and for every peatland country to act now to map, monitor, and manage them before they’re irreversibly damaged.