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Towards INMS 2018 Newsletter UNEP-UKCEH/GEF INMS PROJECT NEWSLETTER

At a Glance

  • INMS-3
  • World Environment Day
  • INMS Milestones
  • Upcoming Meetings
  • Nitrogen in outreach
  • Partner Updates
  • Publications

INMS-3

The Third Plenary Meeting for the International Nitrogen Management System (INMS-3) was held in Central Edinburgh at the Principal Hotel on George Street, from the 16th to 19th April 2018. The meeting was attended by 115 participants from 29 countries, with 58 of the Towards INMS project partners represented. The meeting included a Project Partners Assembly, Stakeholder and Policy Advisory Group meeting and a number of Component and Activity-related meetings. A meeting dinner was held on the Monday evening, which included a Ceilidh, with a mixture of Scottish dancing and talent provided by INMS-3 participants. On Tuesday evening the Scottish Parliament hosted participants at the Global Nitrogen Initiative Reception, hosted by Mr John Scott MSP. The reception was addressed by, Roseanna Cunningham, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, Professor Mark Sutton, Director of INMS, and Isabelle van der Beck, from UN Environment Programme. This meeting paved the way for progress to be made across the INMS Components and Activities, and allowed partners and stakeholders across research organizations, governments, businesses and civil society to exchange knowledge and work together to integrate global nitrogen science.

On the way to integrate global nitrogen science for water, air, soil, health, climate change and ecosystems. INMS3 held in Edinburgh was definitely a step forward! Here is a group photo taken after 4 days of very productive discussions.

The Third Plenary Meeting for the International Nitrogen Management System (INMS-3) was held in Central Edinburgh at the Principal Hotel on George Street, from the 16th to 19th April 2018. The meeting was attended by 115 participants from 29 countries, with 58 of the Towards INMS project partners represented. The meeting included a Project Partners Assembly, Stakeholder and Policy Advisory Group meeting and a number of Component and Activity-related meetings. A meeting dinner was held on the Monday evening, which included a Ceilidh, with a mixture of Scottish dancing and talent provided by INMS-3 participants. On Tuesday evening the Scottish Parliament hosted participants at the Global Nitrogen Initiative Reception, hosted by Mr John Scott MSP. The reception was addressed by, Roseanna Cunningham, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, Professor Mark Sutton, Director of INMS, and Isabelle van der Beck, from UN Environment Programme. This meeting paved the way for progress to be made across the INMS Components and Activities, and allowed partners and stakeholders across research organizations, governments, businesses and civil society to exchange knowledge and work together to integrate global nitrogen science.

Top left: Chris Cox of UN Enviornment, Bottom right: Anna Engleryd of Swedish EPA, Middle left: INMS-3 Participant visit Scottish Parliament, Middle right: Mark Sutton, INMS Project Director, Top right: Component 1 leads provide updates on progress across the Component, Bottom right: INMS-3 participants at the plenary meeting.

Since INMS-3 progress has been made across INMS, with development of our communication hub, various upcoming meetings across Components, Activities and Tasks being planned, and regional demonstration projects getting underway. As well as this, nitrogen has featured in a range of recent events, articles and publications.

World Environment Day 2018

During World Environment 2018 celebrations being held in New Delhi India, a panel discussion titled 'Nitrogen: Joining up for a cleaner environment' was held. This marked the the first ever nitrogen session hosted by the Indian Government. The session discussed India as a global hotspot for ammonia emissions, the challenges of tackling sustainable N management, farming without synthetic fertilizers, drafting of a nitrogen resolution and public engagement.

The session established the need for more recent data across sectors and countries, as well policy measures and interventions. Further to this, it is necessary to translate and disseminate information in a manner that is accessible for the public, and to engage civil society in issues related to nitrogen. There is also opportunity for India and South-Asia to lead in bringing the draft Nitrogen Resolution to the UN Environment Assembly

Planting hope for World Environment Day 2018! Prof. Mark Sutton, INMS Director, joins Supreet Singh and his team Taj Mahal Hotel to talk air quality, nitrogen and taking action together.

Following this N session, there were a number of articles published, bringing issues discussed in the session to the attention of the public. This included an article published in Nature India discussing India emerging as a hot spot for nitrogen pollution.

INMS Milestones

  • NitroPortugal Meeting 'Nitrogen in Soil, Water and GHG and INMS Activity 1.2, 1.3 & 1.6 meeting held, Évora Portugal October 2017
  • Activity 2.4 Workshop held, New York University, January 2018
  • An overview of key scenarios relevant for nitrogen was prepared as a background document, revised at 2.4 workshop, January 2018
  • Free Nutrients and Wastewater Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) launched February 2018
  • Mark Sutton spoke on BBC Radio 4: Farming Today about ammonia emissions on farms, February 2018
  • Environmental journalist and author Fred Pearce reports on global nitrogen pollution issues and the INMS NYU workshop, February 2018
  • Report on proposed approach to implement story lines & scenarios circulated for stakeholder feedback (Task 1.5.1), March 2018
  • Draft report on criteria & necessary components for integrated N modelling cluster (Task 1.5.3), March 2018
  • N-Print Workshop Held, University of Virginia, June 2017
  • Activity 1.2 & 1.4 Joint Workshop Held

Upcoming Meetings

TFRN-13

The Thirteenth Meeting of the Task Force on Reactive Nitrogen will be held in Ottawa, hosted by Environment and Climate Change Canada on the 11-12th October. For your information, TFRN-13 will be preceded by a Workshop on Ammonia (a North American Context) on the 10th. Further, given the importance to TFRN of the linked work under the International Nitrogen Management System (INMS), the TFRN meeting will be followed by an optional field visit to the Nooksack River and Lower Fraser Valley catchments (13th-14th October) to view activities under the INMS North American Demonstration.

Ottawa will host TFRN-13 on the 11th and 12th of October

IWC-9

The Ninth GEF Biennial International Waters Conference, will be held from the 5th-8th November in Marrakesh Morocco. The GEF International Waters Portfolio, which includes Towards INMS, is comprised of over 295 projects in more than 170 different countries globally. The conference will allow participants to share experiences, summarise the progress of projects and look at the future of programming, as well as assist in building capacity in key management areas. IWC9 will include an exhibit area, training for IW project managers and representatives, extensive networking opportunities, participant directed workshops and round-table discussions.

The International Symposium on Nitrogen Cycling and Its Environmental Impacts in East Asia

Registration for the 'The International Symposium on Nitrogen Cycling and Its Environmental Impacts in East Asia' is now open. The symposium is to be held at Tsukuba International Congress Center (Epochal Tsukuba) from the 19th-22nd November 2018, and will contribute to the INMS East Asia Demonstration Region. The conference is being organised by NARO, and continues the series of International Nitrogen Conference in East Asia, mainly supported by Towards INMS. The first one was held in Nanjing, China on October 19-22, 2017 and a preliminary conference was held in Tsukuba, Japan on August 23-24, 2016. The symposium's aims to share information and exchange knowledge on nitrogen cycling and the environmental impacts in East Asia and the world; as well as discuss of research, results and directions for solving the problems related to nitrogen at a regional and global level. The symposium will contribute to Towards INMS through discussing the optimization of nitrogen cycling at various scales and provide a forum for cooperation between participants, organisations, regions and countries. The conference will include keynote addresses from Prof. Wilfried Winiwarter, IIASA, and Prof Xiaoyuan Yan, Nanjing Institute of Soil Science, a poster session and field excursion to the Kasumigaura Basin.

2018 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting will be held will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Centre, Washington DC, from the 10th to 14th of December 2018. The meeting hosts the largest gathering of Earth and space scientists in the world, and provides attendees the opportunity to share research, develop skills, build partnerships, collaborate and exchange knowledge. There will be Keynote speeches from Lisa Jackson, Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives at Apple, James Balog, Founder and Director of Earth Vision Institute and Extreme Ice Survey, and Dr. Jim Reilly, Director of US Geological Survey. The meeting will include a huge array of oral and poster presentations, as well as a range of scientific workshops. Amongst the scientific workshops, there are a couple being held that are relevant to, or will directly contribute to Towards INMS, including one on Global and Regional Nitrous Oxide Budgets, and one on Quantifying Nutrient Budgets for Sustainable Nutrient Management.

Nitrogen Outreach

The world's first Nitrogen MOOC was launched on the 29th May. Since it's launch 1,549 learners have registered for the course from 118 countries, and the community is continuing to grow! You can register fro the free course here.

Guest Project

Migration and transformation process of fertilizer nitrogen in Chinese Agricultural Systems

The project entitled "Migration and transformation processes of fertilizer nitrogen and its loss mitigation strategies in Chinese main agricultural systems" is now well underway. The project started in July 2017, involves 27 research institutions, with 183 researchers throughout China.

Work package breakdown structure of the programme (reference: briefing note)

The project, which ends in 2018, will focus on addressing three key scientific questions:

  1. How do soil physiochemical and biological properties affect N transformation and retention in varying cropland soils?
  2. What critical factors dominate regional variability of fertilizer N recovery efficiency and N losses among different agricultural production systems
  3. How can we improve the synchronicity of N supply and crop demand that could enhance N recovery efficiency while mitigating N losses from Chinese agriculture

A briefing note for the project can be accessed by clicking here, and provides a breakdown on the work packages of the project.

Field Sites monitoring network (reference: briefing note)

Partner Updates

Satya S. Tripathi appointed Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office at UN Environment

The United Nations Secretary-General announced (27 August 2018) the appointment of Satya S. Tripathi of India as the Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office of the UN Environment Programme. Prior to taking this role he was Director and Executive Head of the UN Office for REDD+ Coordination in Indonesia. He has also been the UN Recovery Coordinator and Chair of the Committee on Laws and Treaties for the UN-mediated Cyprus unification talks in 2004.

The full story can be found here.

INI Chair

As attention to the global nitrogen challenge grows, the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI) here announces the appointment of a new Chair to take up the baton. A new position of Vice-chair is also created. Their combined effort will enable INI to strengthen its contribution to global science-policy processes, including supporting the International Nitrogen Management System (INMS) and providing regular input to the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA).

The Chair Elect of INI is Prof. N. Raghuram of GGS Indraprastha University, New Delhi, President of the Indian Nitrogen Group and a Steering Committee member of the UNEP Global Partnership on Nutrient Management. Prof. Raghuram specialises in the biological determinants of crop N use efficiency. He will become the first INI Chair from Asia. His appointment reflects the growing importance of nitrogen for Asia, as well as the recent publication of the Indian Nitrogen Assessment, for which he was one of the coordinators.

The Vice-Chair Elect of INI is Prof David Kanter, of New York University, who is an expert in the role of nitrous oxide and nitrogen policy evaluation. Prof Kanter co-leads the INMS activity on future nitrogen scenarios. He recently led the nitrogen side event at the 2018 meeting of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Commenting on his appointment Prof. Raghuram said: “INI has come a long way under the leadership of all my predecessors from Jim Galloway to Mark Sutton. Reactive nitrogen is now acknowledged in many international platforms, though it is both an opportunity and a challenge for coordinated action towards sustainable development. I have the benefit of an able Vice-Chair in David Kanter and we look forward to further enhancing the outreach and impact of INI across the world.”

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The importance of providing scientific insights to underpin nitrogen policy was emphasized by Prof Kanter: “Nitrogen policies are only as good as the science that underpins them. INI can play a crucial role as an honest broker between the scientific and policy communities on this unique environmental issue. I am excited to work with Prof. Raghuram and others to continue to raise nitrogen's profile in the policy world.”

The new chairs will formally take up their roles on 1 January 2019, allowing for a smooth transition during Autumn 2018.

The outgoing chair of INI, Prof. Mark Sutton of the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), based in Edinburgh, commented: “Chairing the INI has offered a roller-coaster opportunity to bring nitrogen science to the world stage. It has meant a huge amount of travel, but helped INI to forge a deeper understanding of the nitrogen challenge among policy makers globally. As part of this, I am especially pleased about our deepening partnership between INI and UN Environment, both through the Our Nutrient World report and the recent establishment of INMS.”

Passing on the overall leadership of INI to Raghuram and David Kanter will enable Sutton and his team at CEH to focus on coordinating the “Towards INMS” project with UN Environment. The new Chair and Vice Chair of INI will take on responsibility for the overall steer of INI, as well as the network of six regional centres, each under an INI Regional Director (Africa, East Asia, South Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America). Other INI projects under their purview include the “N-print” activity on nitrogen foot-printing and cooperation with the Global Carbon Project on establishment of a global nitrous oxide budget.

As Raghuram and David develop their profiles, their contribution will make INI even more resilient for the future, especially as INI enters a new phase of increased science-policy engagement on the global nitrogen cycle.

The IFA2030 Scenarios

Towards INMS Partner, the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) launched the outcomes of it's 'IFA2030 Scenarios' at the Annual Conference in Marrakesh. The Scenarios outline futures for the fertilizer industry, capturing consultations carried out with IFA members and external experts, and map out future opportunities and challenges around plant nutrition.

“The scenarios clearly show that the industry needs to continue on its path to provide more customized plant nutrition solutions that take farmers’ crop and soil specific nutrient requirements into account,” stated IFA Chairman Rakesh Kapur, “and the tremendous opportunities offered by fast emerging data driven technologies to help us to do so most effectively.”

Publications

Policy distortions, farm size and the overuse of agricultural chemicals in China, Yiyun Wu et al. 2018. This study found that small farm size in China, which is typically around 0.1 ha for each parcel, is strongly related to overuse of agricultural chemicals. The full publication can be found here.

An integrated approach to a nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) indicator for the food production-consumption chain, Jan Willem Erisman et al. 2018. This publication compared four approaches to Nitrogen Use Efficiency to propose an indicator for entire food systems, to then help support policy-makers, track progress and inform stakeholders and consumers. The full publication can be found here.

The geography of future water challenges, this report from PBL Netherlands Environment Assessment Agency highlights the urgency for integrated and overarching solutions to overcome current and future water challenges, in order to meet global sustainability goals. The full report can be found here.

TEEB for Agriculture and food, scientific and economic foundations report. This report publsihed by TEEBAgriFood examines the eco-agri-food nexus and explores theories and pathways for change. The report also includes information regarding global nitrogen issues and how these interact with other threat to agriculture and ecosystems, the full report can be found here.

Assessing future reactive nitrogen inputs into global croplands based on the shared socio-economic pathways. J M Mogollón et al. 2018. Publication assessing future reactive nitrogen inputs into global croplands. The publication is available here.

Local and farmers' knowledge matters! How integrating informal and formal knowledge enhances sustainable and resilient agriculture. Sandra Šūmane et al. 2018. Publication exploring how knowledge exchange, joint learning and collaboration between farmers and research can lead to more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems. Publication can be found here.

What should partners be doing now?

We have been developing and growing our social media presence and would appreciate if you have any partner updates that you would like to broadcast on please let us know. Equally if you have any news items for our website you can emails us at inms@ceh.ac.uk.

We are also interested to hear the views of our partners, regarding the current version of the INMS logo. The current version is below. As we have been using the logo for some time, we think it would be best to keep the general concept of the logo the same (and during INMS-3 we received ad-hoc feedback from the partners that this would be beneficial). However we think we should take the opportunity to confirm this position with all of our partners.

We have created a short webform for you to any provide feedback you may have, which can be found here. If you could take a couple of minutes to fill, we would find this very helpful.

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We would like to hear from you! Please email inms@ceh.ac.uk with any updates that you would like us to include in future newsletters.

Credits:

Created with images by Konstiantyn - "art abstract spring background or summer background with fresh g" • Salman - "view of the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa" • Hanoi Photography - "Terraced rice field in harvest season in Mu Cang Chai, Vietnam. Mam Xoi popular travel destination." • lovelyday12 - "corn field with sunset at countryside"