Gerald Schmilewski is new President of the IPS

International Peat Congress in Malaysia

In August 2016, the 15th International Peat Congress took place in Malaysia. Gerald Schmilewski was elected new President of the International Peatland Society (IPS).

The IPS holds an International Peat Congress every four years, and the Executive Board and President are elected at the same intervals. This year, Gerald Schmilewski, who is member of the “Sustainability Management” division at Klasmann-Deilmann, was up for election and was appointed new President.

The International Peat Congress provides a platform where representatives from the fields of science, politics and industry can exchange ideas and information about highly diverse aspects of the topics of peatland and peatland utilisation. The event also enjoys an excellent reputation with environmental and climate protection organisations. This was the first time that Asia had been chosen to host the event, which took place at Kuching in Malaysia.

The Congress was an unqualified success: attended by more than 1000 delegates from more than 30 different countries, it attracted a higher number of people than ever before. The event included lectures, seminars and poster presentations on various topics, such as biodiversity, nature conservation, peat reserves, peatland restoration and eco-system management as well as socio-economic aspects of peat and peatland.

With 1486 members from 35 countries (figures dated 31 December 2015), the IPS is the world’s largest international association for topics relating to peat bogs. The unique achievement of this NGO is that it brings together representatives from the sectors of nature conservation, trade and industry as well as science.