The Ambassador was greeted there by Patrick Dahlemann, Parliamentary State Secretary for Vorpommern, and together they visited a dense, productive reed bed. The harvesting of typha in Kamp gave them the opportunity to learn more about traditional and innovative kinds of paludiculture. Reed suppliers from Anklam, Rügen and Schleswig-Holstein, as well as representatives from two Dutch reed harvesting machinery manufacturers shared their experience with the Ambassador and State Secretary. Patrick Dahlemann stressed the potential of rewetting and paludiculture for gaining environmental and socio-economic advantages.
In and around the University of Greifswald’s historic University Main Building, Prof. Dr. Katharina Riedel, Pro-Rector for Research, Transfer and International Affairs, introduced Ambassador Oegroseno to the University’s history and key fields of research. The Ambassador showed interest in research collaborations and international exchange, for example as part of an ERASMUS partnership. Following this, the Ambassador was greeted by Prof. Dr. Michael Succow at the Michael Succow Foundation. They discussed further collaboration possibilities whilst visiting the programme library ‘Moor and Conservation’ (Peatland and Nature Conservation International Library — PeNCIL).
Similar to the situation in Germany, the draining of moors for agricultural use has caused significant environmental and climate-related damage in Indonesia. Furthermore, peat fires have worsened the situation and caused health problems amongst the population. The country today sees rewetting and paludiculture as a solution and is collecting information on the sustainable management of mires from all over the world. An authority for moor restauration that was recently created in Indonesia rewetted approx. 200,000 hectares of drained mires in 2017.
The Indonesian Peat Prize with prizemoney of 1 million US dollars was awarded in Jakarta in February 2018. Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans Joosten, peatland expert and palaeoecologist at the University of Greifswald’s Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology and co-founder of the Greifswald Mire Centre, is a member of the winning team, the International Peat Mapping Team (IPMT). A team around the peatland expert Professor Joosten has been analysing the greenhouse gas emissions, mire development and land use of Indonesian mires since 2006.
Further Information
The original press release was published by the Greifswald Mire Centre.
Link to the press release from February Greifswald Peatland Researcher Amongst Prizewinning Team of the Indonesian Peat Prize
Contact at the University of Greifswald
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans Joosten
Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology
Soldmannstraße 15, 17489 Greifswald
Tel.: +49 3834 420 4177
joosten(at)uni-greifswald(dot)de