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Dear Readers,
Welcome to the first issue of the Indo-German Biodiversity Programme newsletter for 2025!
We start the year by bringing our pioneering work on mapping of peatlands in India. Peatlands are unique ecosystems that cover only around 3-4% of the planet’s land surface, containing up to one-third of the world’s soil carbon or twice the amount of carbon found in the world’s forests. Yet, peatlands are not part of climate action in India. The peatlands mapping in India, we hope, would engender public interest in integrating peatlands into broader environmental policies and programmes for climate change and mitigation, adaptation, biodiversity conservation and water security.
February will start with observing World Wetlands Day on 2 February 2025. This year’s theme, ‘Wetlands for a Common Future,’ highlights the need for building a future wherein all people, everywhere, can continue to benefit from the life-sustaining services that wetlands provide.
Along with securing the essential values and services that wetlands provide, we need to ensure that this is done in an inclusive and participatory manner. This edition features the short film ‘Guardians of Wetlands,’ which highlights the vital role women play in protecting these unique ecosystems. In a similar spirit of inclusion, we also highlight the Community of Practice on Sustainable Spice Farming, where farmer organisations, NGOs, spice companies, and government representatives are coming together to ensure a sustainable future for spice production.
As we continue to learn from our past efforts and work towards building a common future worth living, we bring you a recap of 2024 highlights. We hope it kick-starts our engagement with your ideas, contributions, and feedback as we step into 2025.
Warmly,
Editors
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