Nitrogen is found in all living organisms. In fact, it is like carbon and is indispensable for survival of life on Earth. The resolution for sustainable nitrogen management in the United Nations Environment Assembly-4, which for the first time was led by India, has made experts believe that it can help establish an international coordination for nitrogen similar to what exists for carbon.

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Rationale behind the Resolution on Sustainable Nitrogen Management:

Nitrogen is essential to all life on Earth as it forms an important component of life-building and propagating biochemical molecules like proteins. But overuse in agriculture in the form of fertilisers and other fields have made this important element more bane than boon. This is why many scientists have called nitrogen the “new carbon”.

Situation in India:

• India is under the grip of nitrogen pollution, finds the country’s first assessment on the impacts of the nutrient.
• The nitrogen (N) being used for agricultural purposes is rampant but also increasing emissions from the transport boom in the country.
• India consumes 17 Mt (million tonnes) of nitrogen fertiliser annually as per the data of the Fertiliser Association of India.
• 67 per cent remains in the soil and seeps into the surrounding environment causing a cascade of environmental and health impacts.
• India as a country was using and emitting huge amount of nitrogen, and its related toxic components.
• The India Nitrogen Assessment found that nitrates not only affected surface water but also polluted groundwater sources.
• Nitrogen in the form nitrous oxide (N2O) is also a greenhouse gas (GHG) and a fast rising contributor to global climate change.

The salient features of Resolution on Sustainable Nitrogen Management:

• The resolution titled, ‘Sustainable Nitrogen Management’ , recognizes the multiple pollution threats resulting from anthropogenic reactive nitrogen, with adverse effects on the terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments and contributing to air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and highlights ways to better manage nitrogen.
• The resolution supports exploring options for better management of the global nitrogen cycle to achieve the SDGs, including through the “sharing of assessment methodologies, relevant best practices and guidance documents and emerging technologies for recovery and recycling of nitrogen and other such nutrients.”
• The resolution recognised the threats of pollution due to human emissions of reactive nitrogen on “the terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments”.
• It also acknowledged the benefits of nitrogen use for food and energy production.
• It noted that global use of reactive nitrogen is extremely inefficient as 80 per cent of all nitrogen used is lost to the environment creating a cascade of impacts, from pollution affecting human health and ecosystem services to green house gas emissions which lead to climate change and also ozone depletion.
• The UNEA resolution did recognise the various initiatives taken by organisations around the world on nitrogen pollution including the South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme(SACEP) and the International Nitrogen Management System.
• The member states will “report on the progress achieved in the implementation of this resolution in UNEA-6.”

Steps taken in India to curb Nitrogen pollution:

• Indian government might have inadvertently taken certain steps like mandating neem-coated urea production which can abate a crisis.
• Neem-coated urea releases nitrogen at a slower pace giving plants time to absorb it, hence leading to an optimal usage.
• Reducing the use of nitrogen fertilisers and increasing that of recycled manures offers the prospect for Indian farmers to produce food more securely and profitably, while saving the government a huge amount of money.
• One of the most prominent ways of doing this is so-called ‘precision agriculture’, which uses hi-tech approaches to apply just the right amount of nitrogen at just the right time for the plant’s needs.

Way forward:

• The establishment of “an intergovernmental coordination mechanism on nitrogen policies, based primarily on existing networks and platforms and consider the case for developing an integrated nitrogen policy”.
• A coordinated effort from various UN organisations like the Food and Agricultural Organization for better management of the nitrogen cycle on the planet.
• This would mean sharing of methodologies, practices and technologies for recycle and recovery of nitrogen and other such nutrients to ensure the Sustainable Development Goals are met.
• Global bodies should coordinate on data sharing and calculating the benefits of successful nitrogen management.
• member countries must take all the necessary national and regional initiatives to support this global initiative to prevent further accumulation of reactive nitrogen compounds that damage our health, biodiversity and climate

Conclusion:

The International Nitrogen Initiative (INI) which has been at the forefront on the subject of nitrogen pollution welcomed the UNEA4 resolution for Sustainable Nitrogen Management. It further “appreciated the Indian leadership and South Asian unity for global action on this very important global topic.”