Sustainable nitrogen management: Ministry decides to reach stakeholders

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination (MoCC&EC) has decided to consult stakeholders on the South Asia Roadmap for Sustainable Nitrogen Management, with an aim of proposing a mechanism to minimize its impact on land fertility, informed sources said Business recorder.

MoCC&EC states that nitrogen is a crucial element for agriculture and food production, but its excessive/inefficient use can lead to several environmental problems, such as air and water pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss.

This requires sustainable nitrogen management for both sustainable food production and achieving several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including zero hunger, good health and well-being, climate action, life below water and life on land.

The South Asia Co-operative Environment Program (SACEP), in collaboration with South Asia Nitrogen Hub (SANH), prepared a draft “South Asia Roadmap on Sustainable Nitrogen Management”, which was shared with Member States for discussion before being presented to the Council of Management was presented meeting. The Roadmap aims to establish the regional policy framework for actions with clear and measurable objectives to promote sustainable nitrogen management in South Asia and to this end motivate the necessary change through national actions, networking, knowledge sharing and technology, but also through mutual learning between Member States in the region.

The draft was revised and updated during discussions during two online and one in-person meetings of Member State delegates. SACEP shared the updated draft for final comments before its adoption at the Board of Directors meeting scheduled for June 2024.

In light of the 2021-2023 global fertilizer price crisis, the work highlights how a target to halve nitrogen waste would save US$150-300 billion per year globally, illustrating how sustainable nitrogen management can be good for the environment at the same time and food safety. and economics.

Informed by the latest developments, including the expected emergence of ‘green ammonia’ as a future fuel, SACEP and SANH collaborated to draft the ‘South Asian Roadmap for Sustainable Nitrogen Management’.

In this regard, SACEP held two online and one in-person meetings and the draft was revised accordingly. The updated/revised draft Roadmap is now open for final comments by SACEP Member States before being submitted to the 16th Governing Council meeting.

According to MoCC&EC, nitrogen pollution is linked to many of the sectors including agriculture, energy, transport, industry and waste management; etc., and sustainable nitrogen management is crucial; Therefore, a consultation session is necessary to involve all relevant sectors and hear their comments/reservations to improve the draft roadmap. In this regard, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination in collaboration with SANH, UAF and INI has scheduled a consultative workshop on May 9, 2024 in Islamabad.

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