Peat News
Peat News is the monthly electronic newsletter of the International Peat Society. It is distributed to our members mainly by e-mail. The first issue was sent out in January 2002.
Currently, about 1,200 people are receiving Peat News. About 600 IPS members get the newsletter directly from the IPS Secretariat, Dutch and German members can subscribe via their National Committees. Altogether, about 80% of the IPS members and almost 300 other persons receive the newsletter.
Communications Manager Susann Warnecke works as Editorial Secretary of Peat News. If you are a member of IPS and want to subscribe for the newsletter please contact her.
Any comments and suggestions for the content of the next issue are always welcome. If you wish to be among the authors for one of the next issues, please send your short announcement (5-6 lines) by the 20th of each month to the IPS Secretariat.
Current issue
Peat News 6/2010 30 June 2010
International Peat Congress 2016 in Malaysia – Dr. Lulie Melling becoming IPS President 2016 - 2020!
The Annual Assembly of National Representatives of the IPS 2010 was held on 16 June at the Scandic Hotel in Jyväskylä in Finland. Attended by a record number of official representatives from 15 member countries and more than 30 observers, the Assembly made a range of important decisions for the future of our Society. One of the most awaited issues was the decision on the venue of the International Peat Congress 2016. The Executive Board of IPS had opened the application process for this major event almost two years ago. Two National Committees, Latvia and Malaysia, had responded to the call and presented their ideas first to the Executive Board which, after thorough consideration, recommended the Annual Assembly to organise this major event in Kuching, Malaysia, using the chance to move IPS closer to the tropical peat swamp forests of Southeast Asia.
However, the final decision was given to the National Committee representatives in Jyväskylä. The Annual Assembly attendees heard two 20 minute presentations - by Mr. Renars Skudra from Latvia for Riga as Congress venue and by Dr. Lulie Melling for Kuching, Malaysia (photo above). At the same time, also the candidates for IPS President 2016-2020 were introduced to the meeting. After the presentations, a vote by secret ballot took place. All representatives, from Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Latvia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the USA, wrote down whether they accept the proposal by the Executive Board that the Congress would be hosted in Kuching - and then waited impatiently for the counting of the votes: The Congress would go to Malaysia!
This means, at the same time, that Dr. Lulie Melling will be IPS President for the period 2016 - 2020 and 1st Vice President for 2012 - 2016, after the International Peat Congress in Stockholm, when current 1st Vice President Prof. Björn Hånell takes over the position of IPS President from Mr. Donal Clarke. The IPS Presidency is circulated every 4 years according to the venue of International Peat Congresses.
Dr. Lulie Melling is holding a Doctor of Philosophy from Hokkaido University, Japan, is Master of Agricultural Science in Soil Science of University of Reading, United Kingdom and Bachelor of Science in Geography (Hons) from the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Presently she is, among other positions, the Director of the Tropical Peat Research Laboratory Unit at the Chief Minister’s Department in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, Vice-President of the Malaysian Soil Science Society and Technical Advisor for Sarawak Government in the Malaysian National Action Plan for Peatland, as well as Treasurer of the Malaysian Peat Society. Dr. Melling can be contacted by email: lulie_melling (at) yahoo.com, phone: +60 82 429 621, fax: +60 82 429 624.
The Executive Board and IPS staff warmly thanks both applicants for the Congress for their efforts, lots of hours of work and eagerness to receive the acceptance of their bid. We look forward to getting to know our Malaysian colleagues and hope that a large international symposium can be organised in Riga in Latvia in 2014, uniting peatland experts from Eastern and Western Europe and all other IPS member countries. The next International Peat Congress will be organised in Sweden in June 2012, more information and a pre-registration form can be found at www.ipc2012.se.
Hartmut Falkenberg and Ansis Snore New Honorary Members
Following nominations from the National Committees of Germany and Latvia, the IPS Executive Board granted Honorary Member status to Hartmut Falkenberg and to Ansis Snore. Both have been active in the IPS for a very long time, on a national and international level. We thank them for their valuable work done, hope to see them at many coming events and benefit from their experience for a long time in the future. Thank you very much!
New IPS Executive Board 2010 - 2012
Another important task of the Annual Assembly was to elect new Executive Board members for the coming two to four years. In addition to the three regular replacements for the posts of Håkan Bjur, Valerijs Kozlovs and Jutta Zeitz who had been on the Board since 2006, also the positions of Tomasz Brandyk, who had suddently passed away in May 2009, and Dmitryi Gogin, who resigned from hist post last November, were open for new candidates.
By the end of January, the official deadline, six nominations from National Committees were received. During the following weeks, two proposals were redrawn, so that Valerijs Kozlovs from Latvia, Lech Szajdak from Poland, Erki Niitlaan from Estonia and Jutta Zeitz from Germany remained as candidates. As this number was lower than the number of open seats on the Board, the Annual Assembly decided to elect all candidates with a single voting.
After that, the 2nd Vice President of IPS was determined by secret ballot from those EB members that were ready to fulfill this important position. This time, Mr. Paul Short from Canada received the majority of votes, being thereby elected as 2nd Vice President and member of the Scientific Advisory Board for 2010 to 2012, the remainder of the term of Prof. Brandyk. Donal Clarke remains IPS President, Björn Hånell continues as 1st Vice President and Satu Helynen as ordinary Board member until the 2012 Peat Congress. The new Executive Board thereby consists of:
President: Donal Clarke, Ireland 2008 – 2012
1st Vice President: Björn Hånell, Sweden 2008 – 2012
2nd Vice President: Paul Short, Canada 2010 – 2012
Permanent members (2-6):
Satu Helynen, Finland 2008 – 2012
Jutta Zeitz, Germany 2010 – 2012
Valerijs Kozlovs, Latvia 2010 – 2014
Erki Niitlaan, Estonia 2010 – 2014
Lech Szajdak, Poland 2010 – 2014
The Assembly confirmed formally that there are five permanent (ordinary) EB members for the time being, and lots were drawn to determine who of the new Board members would have a two-year term so that half of the EB membership changes every second year. This short-term position went to Jutta Zeitz. We warmly congratulate all new Executive Board members and wish them success for their new tasks! Their full contact details can be found at www.peatsociety.org/index.php?id=27.
Other decisions of the Annual Assembly
In addition to the elections above, the Annual Assembly confirmed the Annu¬al Report, Balance Sheet and the Auditor’s Report for 2009 (all are available in Peatlands International 1/2010) and granted discharge to the Executive Board and the Secretary General. The Auditor’s report and statement were adopted. The Annual Assembly also approved the plan of activities, budget, and the membership fees of the Society for 2010. The presented 2011 budget was accepted as an interim budget until the next Annual Assembly. Arto Saarinen from Deloitte & Touche Oy was elected auditor and the company was authorised to nominate a substitute auditor for the IPS.
Looking into the future, the Annual Assembly accepted by voting a proposal of the Executive Board to increase the maximum number of permanent members on the Executive Board from 6 to 8. This proposal was made in the context of the long-term strategic development of the Society. The first sentence of Article 4 of the Statutes will be amended accordingly: the phrase “and of 2 to 6 permanent members” be changed to “and of 2 to 8 permanent members”.
In addition, it was proposed to review the IPS Statutes and Internal Regulations in general before the next Annual Assembly, to be held in Québec City, Canada on 14 June 2011.
Major Decisions of the Executive Board
The IPS Executive Board met twice during the IPS Convention in Jyväskylä. On 15 June, the EB reviewed the financial situation of IPS and noted, among others, that four National Committees had failed to pay their 2009 membership fees. However, saving measures of the IPS Secretariat and careful evaluation at the beginning of the economic crisis had stabilised the situation. The EB also dealt with a new Action Plan for the Society for 2010-2012, which promises to extend membership services and to improve networking opportunities for all involved in the IPS, including an improved website and more frequent Commission activities. National Committees and all other members were also encouraged to submit information for Peat News and Peatlands International on a regular basis.
The EB confirmed the seminar and field trip of Commission VII “Ditch network maintenance in peatland forests - updating our knowledge on timber production, environmental effects and newest adaptive practices” in Honne, Norway, 13 - 15 September 2010 for the IPS event list and the use of the IPS logo. It also noted that a Round Table Symposium on Peat Balneology by Commission VI will be held in Kurikka, Finland on 2 - 4 September 2010.
Finally the Board dealt with extra funding for the online journal “Mires and Peat” and expressed the opinion that a reprint of “Wise Use of Mires and Peatland” was not necessary as long as the publication can be downloaded from the IPS website for free. As last agenda points, the EB heard a presentation on a Canadian certification scheme and confirmed its former decision to form and activate the Climate Change Working Group of IPS.
On 16 June, after the Annual Assembly, the newly formed Executive Board held a short meeting to determine the dates and venues of its next meetings: in Amsterdam on 10 October, in Stockholm in late February/early March 2011 and on 13 June 2011 in Quebec, Canada. The decisions of the Board will be sent out “in a nutshell” summary to all IPS members.
Development of the Strategy for Responsible Peatland Management
As one major item, the IPS Executive Board discussed on 15 June the status of the Strategy for Responsible Peatland Management and heard the opinion of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB, consisting of the IPS Commission Chairs) on the matter. Further comments had been received by early June from a number of individuals, companies and non-government organisations and it was seen valuable to incorporate them into the document.
In general, the EB endorsed the spirit and intent of the Strategy. It agreed that a strengthened review and revision mechanism should be built into the document so that it could be a “living” rather than a static document. It agreed that environmental NGOs could be contacted by the President and Secretariat to see if further cooperation including physical meetings could usefully be arranged. The President, Secretary General and SAB Chair were authorised to agree on a mechanism to finalise the text of the Strategy from an IPS perspective. The final draft is to be submitted to the EB for approval. It was agreed that the matter should be finalised within as short a timeframe as possible, to be reviewed at the EB meeting in Amsterdam on 10 October 2010.
Presentations of Jyväskylä Seminars Available
The Seminars on Peat Technology and on After-Use of Cutover Peatlands in Jyväskylä on 16 and 17 June were well attended – over 90 participants from 21 countries had found their way to the capital of Central Finland to hear the 30 presentations of experts in their fields and to discuss the results during coffee breaks, lunches and the sunny cruise on Lake Päijänne.
The majority of presentations can now be found also online. Please visit www.peatsociety.org/index.php?id=263 and click on the seminar topics to download the power point slides or handouts of the speakers. More information on the Convention and its meetings will be available in Peatlands International in autumn.
Thanks to all sponsors, speakers, guests and organisers for an unforgettable week, your input and company!
For an up-to-date list of upcoming events of the International Peat Society and related organisations, please visit www.peatsociety.org/index.php?id=4. Proceedings and other publications can be ordered at www.peatsociety.org/index.php?id=80.
Previous Issues
Peat News Index 2002 48.50 KB Peat News Index 2003 47.50 KB Peat News Index 2004 55.00 KB Peat News Index 2005 57.00 KB Peat News Index 2006 57.00 KB Peat News Index 2007 150.00 KB
PeatNews1-2010.pdf 131.32 KB PeatNews2-2010.pdf 168.98 KB PeatNews3-2010.pdf 160.82 KB PeatNews4-2010.pdf 218.14 KB
PeatNews1-2009.pdf 79.88 KB PeatNews2-2009.pdf 202.93 KB PeatNews3-2009.pdf 90.95 KB PeatNews4-2009.pdf 79.22 KB PeatNews5-2009.pdf 85.18 KB PeatNews6-2009.pdf 88.55 KB PeatNews7-2009.pdf 83.31 KB PeatNews8-2009.pdf 131.16 KB PeatNews9-2009.pdf 105.62 KB PeatNews10-2009.pdf 88.32 KB PeatNews11-2009.pdf 79.40 KB PeatNews12-2009.pdf 85.33 KB PeatNews1-2008.pdf 137.77 KB PeatNews2-2008.pdf 70.89 KB PeatNews3-2008.pdf 67.28 KB PeatNews4-2008.pdf 95.29 KB PeatNews5-2008.pdf 104.93 KB PeatNews6-2008.pdf 155.54 KB PeatNews7-2008.pdf 68.85 KB PeatNews8-2008.pdf 73.37 KB PeatNews9-2008.pdf 28.73 KB
PeatNews1-2007.pdf 50.24 KB PeatNews2-2007.pdf 110.06 KB PeatNews3-2007.pdf 50.23 KB PeatNews4-2007.pdf 109.15 KB PeatNews7-2007.pdf 60.66 KB PeatNews8-2007.pdf 67.62 KB PeatNews9-2007.pdf 83.27 KB PeatNews10-2007.pdf 61.59 KB PeatNews11-2007.pdf 99.07 KB PeatNews12-2007.pdf 80.17 KB
PeatNews1-2006.pdf 50.17 KB PeatNews2-2006.pdf 50.06 KB PeatNews3-2006.pdf 109.56 KB PeatNews4-2006.pdf 49.71 KB PeatNews5-2006.pdf 50.21 KB PeatNews6-2006.pdf 108.21 KB PeatNews7-2006.pdf 50.13 KB PeatNews8-2006.pdf 49.93 KB PeatNews9-2006.pdf 50.33 KB PeatNews10-2006.pdf 50.06 KB PeatNews11-2006.pdf 50.18 KB PeatNews12-2006.pdf 50.16 KB PeatNews1-2005.pdf 52.24 KB PeatNews2-2005.pdf 57.87 KB PeatNews3-2005.pdf 53.29 KB PeatNews4-2005.pdf 53.33 KB PeatNews5-2005.pdf 53.34 KB PeatNews6-2005.pdf 55.37 KB PeatNews7-2005.pdf 113.68 KB PeatNews8-2005.pdf 54.50 KB PeatNews9-2005.pdf 53.34 KB PeatNews10-2005.pdf 55.50 KB PeatNews11-2005.pdf 49.95 KB PeatNews12-2005.pdf 50.20 KB
