Restoring Peatlands Proves To Be Effective Carbon Sink

Last week, Tero Mustonen won a Goldman Environmental Prize for his work with the Snowcharge Cooperative to restore peatlands in Finland in partnership with the Sámi Indigenous and Finnish rural communities. Peatlands, many of which formed 12,000 years ago, are some of the largest and most important carbon sinks on Earth, and until a century ago, almost a third of Finland was covered in peat. But half of the Finnish peatlands have since been lost from strip mining and lumber operations.

Yale Environment 360 interviewed Tero Mustonen, a Goldman Environmental Prize winner for his work with the Snowchange Cooperative, who is trying to restore 130,000 acres of peatlands in Finland, and to restore the land rights of the Sámi Indigenous people. “Our approach supports traditional knowledge and Sámi rights,” Mustonen told E360, “and recognizes that nature has its own distinct value separate from financial value. We are proud of that.” (Yale Environment 360)