Summary:
- The study found that only 17% of the world's peatlands are currently protected, despite their importance in storing large amounts of carbon and supporting biodiversity.
- Peatlands cover just 3% of the Earth's land surface but store twice as much carbon as all the world's forests combined, making their protection crucial for climate change mitigation.
- The study calls for greater efforts to protect and restore peatlands, which are under threat from activities such as drainage, conversion to agriculture, and wildfires, in order to safeguard their valuable ecosystem services.