GCRF South Asian Nitrogen Hub

GCRF 南亚氮中心

基本信息

批准号：
NE/S009019/2
负责人：
Mark Sutton
金额：
$ 1959.54万
依托单位：
UK CENTRE FOR ECOLOGY & HYDROLOGY
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2019
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2019 至无数据
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FS009019%2F2
关键词：
GCRF South Asian Nitrogen Hub

项目摘要

Humans have massively altered flows of nitrogen on our planet, leading to both benefits for food production and multiple threats to the environment. There are few places on Earth more affected than South Asia, with levels of nitrogen pollution rapidly increasing. The result is a web of interlinked problems, as nitrogen losses from agriculture and from fossil fuel combustion cause air and water pollution. This damages human health, threatens biodiversity of forests and rivers, and leads to coastal and marine pollution that exacerbates the effects of climate change, such as by predisposing reefs to coral bleaching. Altogether, it is clear that nitrogen pollution is something we should be taking very seriously.The amazing thing is that so few people have heard of the problem. Everyone knows about climate change and carbon footprints, but how many people are aware that nitrogen pollution is just as significant? One reason for this is that scientists and policy makers have traditionally specialised. Different experts have focused on different parts of the nitrogen story, and few have the expertise to see how all the issues fit together.This challenge is taken up by a major new research hub established under the UK Global Challenge Research Fund. The "GCRF South Asian Nitrogen Hub" is a partnership that brings together 32 leading research organisations with project engagement partners from the UK and South Asia. All eight countries of the South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP) are included. The hub includes research on how to improve nitrogen management in agriculture, saving money on fertilizers and making better use of manure, urine and natural nitrogen fixation processes. It highlights options for more profitable and cleaner farming for India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives. At the same time, the hub considers how nitrogen pollution could be turned back to fertilizer, for example by capturing nitrogen oxide gas from factories and converting it into nitrate.The fact that all the SACEP countries are included is really important. It means that lessons can be shared on good experiences as well as on whether there are cultural, economic and environmental differences that prevent better management practices from being adopted. It is also important from the perspective of international diplomacy, and provides an example to demonstrate how working together on a common problem is in everyone's interest. It puts the focus on future cooperation for a healthier planet, rather than on the past.The South Asian case provides for some exciting scientific, social, cultural and economic research challenges. The first is simply to get all the researchers talking together and understanding each other. There are dozens of languages in South Asia, matching the challenge met when different research disciplines come together. This is where developing a shared language around nitrogen can really help. There are lots of nitrogen forms ranging from unreactive atmospheric nitrogen (N2), to the air pollutants ammonia (NH3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), to nitrate (NO3-) which contaminates watercourses, and nitrous oxide (N2O) which is a greenhouse gas. The impacts of each of these are being studied to provide a better understanding of how they all fit together.The result is an approach that aims to give a much more coherent picture of the nitrogen cycle in South Asia: What is stopping us from taking action, and what can be done about it. One of the big expectations is that the economic value of nitrogen will help. India alone spends around £6 billion per year subsidising fertilizer supply. It means that South Asian governments are strongly motivated to use nitrogen better. At which point research from the South Asian hub can provide guidance on where they might start.

人类在我们的星球上已经发生了巨大变化的氮流，从而导致粮食生产的益处，也带来了对环境的多种威胁。地球上几乎没有比南亚受到影响更大的地方，氮污染水平迅速增加。结果是一个相互联系的问题，因为农业造成的氮损失以及化石燃料成分会导致空气和水污染。这损害了人类健康，威胁着森林和河流的生物多样性，并导致沿海和海洋污染加剧了气候变化的影响，例如通过使珊瑚礁倾向于珊瑚漂白。总的来说，很明显，氮污染是我们应该非常重视的。令人惊讶的是，很少有人听说过这个问题。每个人都知道气候变化和碳足迹，但是有多少人知道氮污染同样重要？原因之一是科学家和政策制定者传统上专门化。不同的专家专注于氮故事的不同部分，很少有专业知识能够看到所有问题如何结合在一起。这一挑战是由英国全球挑战研究基金建立的一个主要的新研究中心进行的。 “ GCRF南亚氮枢纽”是一种合作伙伴关系，将32个领先的研究组织与来自英国和南亚的项目参与伙伴汇集在一起。包括南亚合作环境计划（SACEP）的所有八个国家。该枢纽包括有关如何改善一致性氮管理，节省肥料的资金以及更好地利用手动，尿液和天然氮固定过程的研究。它重点介绍了印度，巴基斯坦，孟加拉国，尼泊尔，阿富汗，斯里兰卡，不丹和马尔代夫的更多盈利和清洁农业的选择。同时，枢纽考虑了如何将氮污染转回肥料，例如，通过从因子中捕获氮气并将其转化为硝酸盐。所有SACEP国家都包括在内。这意味着可以在良好的经验以及是否有文化，经济和环境差异来阻止采用更好的管理实践的文化，经济和环境差异上分享课程。从国际外交的角度来看，这也很重要，并提供了一个例子，以证明在共同问题上共同努力符合每个人的利益。这将重点放在一个更健康的星球上，而不是过去。南亚案例规定了一些令人兴奋的科学，社会，文化和经济研究挑战。首先是让所有研究人员一起交谈并相互理解。南亚有数十种语言，当不同的研究学科融合在一起时，应对挑战所面临的挑战。在这里，围绕氮的共享语言确实可以提供帮助。从无反应性大气氮（N2）到空气污染物氨（NH3）和二氧化氮（NO2）到硝酸盐（NO3-），有很多氮形式，这些氮形式污染了水库和氧化氧化物（N2O）（NO3-）。每一种的影响都在研讨会上，以更好地了解它们如何融合在一起。结果是一种方法，旨在使南亚的氮循环更加连贯：什么阻止我们采取行动，以及可以做什么。最大的期望之一是，氮的经济价值将有所帮助。仅印度就每年花费约60亿英镑补贴肥料供应。这意味着南亚政府强烈动机更好地使用氮。在这一点上，南亚枢纽的研究可以提供有关它们可能从哪里开始的指导。