The CFA is pleased to announce its participation in the new South Asian Nitrogen Hub. The UK Government announced in January its commitment to jointly fund this major international research programme to tackle the challenge that nitrogen pollution poses for the environment, food security, human health and the economy in South Asia.
The South Asian Nitrogen Hub, a partnership led by the UK’s Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and comprising around 50 organisations from across the UK and South Asia, will be established with funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under its Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). The Hub will be awarded £19.6 million over the next five years, and the Hub is one of 12 GCRF hubs announced by UKRI to address intractable challenges in sustainable development. The interdisciplinary hubs, between them, will work across 85 countries with governments, international agencies, partners and NGOs on the ground in developing countries and around the globe, to develop creative and sustainable solutions that help make the world safer, healthier and more prosperous. The team will study nitrogen in agriculture in eight countries – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives. The Hub’s recommendations will support cleaner and more profitable farming, as well as industrial recycling of nitrogen, fostering development of a cleaner circular economy for nitrogen. The CFA will bring its experience working at the interface between farmers, food businesses and academics, to inform farm management practices to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, including nutrient management.
In addition to the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, UK project partners include the Universities of Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Bristol, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Moredun Research Institute, National Oceanography Centre, Nourish Scotland, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Rothamsted Research, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Scottish Government and Scotland’s Rural College. The Hub also includes the intergovernmental South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) as well as research institutes, universities and government agencies in South Asia, the UN Food & Agriculture Programme and UN Environment, plus industry including international chemical company BASF.
For news of the project watch this space, and follow the project team on Twitter @GCRFNitrogenHub.
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