31 January 2013: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued a call for government and expert review of the second order draft of its “2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventories: Wetlands,” known as the Wetlands Supplement.

IPCC methodology reports, such as the Wetlands Supplement, are subject to multi-stage reviews, involving first order drafts reviewed by scientific experts, and second order drafts reviewed by governments and experts, followed by a final round of government comments prior to approval.

Over 120 experts were involved in the first order draft of the Wetlands Supplement, with over 5,000 comments received. The IPCC expects a wide range of reviewers to participate in the review of the second order draft, bringing expertise in the following areas: wetlands, forests and wetland soils; IPCC Guidelines; land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF); and inventory compilation.

The review of the second order draft is scheduled to take place between 11 February and 7 April 2013, and the Supplement is expected to be finalized by the end of October 2013. Registration for experts opens 4 February 2013.

The draft Wetlands Supplement, which provides additional national-level inventory methodological guidance on wetlands to address gaps in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines, was developed by the IPCC’s Task Force on National GHG Inventories (TFI). The IPCC was invited by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010 to undertake this work, with a focus on the re-wetting and restoration of peatland. [IPCC Press Release] [Expert Registration Webpage]