A P R I L 2 0 2 0 UKRI GCRF SOUTH ASIAN NITROGEN HUB

N E W S L E T T E R

In This Issue

S A N H E - C O N F E R E N C E

S E M I N A R O N N I T R O G E N S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y I N P A K I S T A N

D I L M A H F I E L D V I S I T

W P 3 . 1 T A X O N O M I C T R A I N I N G

M A L D I V E S S T A K E H O L D E R M E E T I N G

Image from the SANH E-Conference Credit: Abdul Wakeel

FIRST SANH E-CONFERENCE

1 0 T H - 1 3 T H M A R C H 2 0 2 0 , V I R T U A L E - M E E T I N G

This March, the GCRF South Asian It was also a great chance to update It was a great way to inform everyone Nitrogen Hub (SANH) hosted its first colleagues from across the Hub on how we are progressing with the ever E-conference from the 10th-13th community on events happening in the partnership. We would like to thank March 2020, in light of the current wider nitrogen community as well as everyone who participated in the Coronavirus issue. The conference was demostrate all the fantastic work conference. It was amazing to see such a great success with fantastic achieved by the hub to our funders enthusiam and productive discussions. engagement with partners from across UKRI and the Advisory Group. We are so grateful to all of those who all 8 South Asian countries and the UK. took the time out of their busy The Conference consisted of Plenary The meeting was held over the virtual schedules to attend and we are very sessions at the beginning and meeting technology Zoom and was a proud to have such dedicated people as conclusion of the conference as well as great example of how virtual meetings part of SANH. All presentations, notes, many smaller, parallel work package can be held, allowing us to reduce the minutes and recordings are available on specific sessions. Great progress and climate impact of air travel. The the SANH Partner Wiki. If you don't yet planning was made throughout the conference also provided an amazing have access to the wiki please contact entire hub and it was a great training and development opportunity [email protected]. opportunity to identify linkages and for the many early career staff and foster collaboration between work students that are involved and Please note that we originally planned packages and organisations. The contributing to the work of SANH. It to hold the postponed in person SANH- conference also assisted in reducing the allowed junior staff to learn more about 2 meeting, in Kandy, in June risk of delays to work and allowed many the project as a whole and build 2020. This will no longer take place in work packages to further develop their capacity. Certain managerial aspects June and we have not suggested an research plans and adapt to changing were also discussed such as ethics, alternative date as we assess the global environments. safeguarding, reporting and more. longerterm impacts of the COVID-19 crisis.

S O U T H A S I A N N I T R O G E N H U B S O U T H A S I A N N I T R O G E N H U B

NITROGEN IN , MARCH 2020 Nitrogen application in Pakistan has risen steeply in recent decades and has detrimental environmental impacts. The UKRI GCRF South Asian Nitrogen Hub in conjunction with the University of Faisalabad conducted a seminar on nitrogen sustainability in Pakistan. The seminar was led by Dr Abdul Wakeel and Dr Bob Rees who both highlighted the efficiency of low N fertiliser use and measures which the Pakistani government can prioritise to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on both a national and international level. The seminar also emphisised the importance of collaborating with global partners and that this a pressing issue for many countries including Pakistan and the UK. Participants from several research institutions and civil society actors were also welcomed and described their roles in helping address the issue of climate change. This was a great opportunity to raise awareness on the issue of nitrogen pollution on a national policy scale and how through sustainably managing nitrogen, countries like Pakistan can protect food security and reduce impacts on the environment. The seminar was then followed by visits to experimental sites for the agronomic experiments of work package 2.1a. Members of SANH WP 2.1a visiting experimental sites in Pakistan Credit: Abdul Wakeel DILMAH TEA GARDENS FIELD VISIT, MARCH 2020

SANH is proud to be collaborating with Dilmah Tea Gardens in Sri Lanka in work package 3.1. This workpackage investigates the impact of nitrogen deposition on lichens in both the Himalayas and Sri Lanka. We are working with Dilmah for fumigation experiments to explore the impacts of increased nitrogen air pollution on these organisms. Members of WP 3.1 visited the Dilmah Tea gardens and were successful in identifying and mapping field sites. The team made great progress in setting up plans for the experiments and have next steps of preparing site GIS with a new PhD studentship with the University of Perideniya. This was also a great chance to further build on our relationship with Dilmah tea who have been incredibly supportive of the work of SANH and reducing human impacts on the environment. SANH members had a detailed discussion with Dilmah CEO Dilhan Fernando and founder Merrill J.Fernando on the impact of nitrogen on the environment and how industry can commit to ethical and environmentally friendly business. Members of SANH WP 3.1 visiting Dilmah Tea Gardens, Sri Lanka Credit: Mark Sutton

WP 3.1 LICHEN TAXONOMY WORKSHOP

Work package 3.1 is making fantastic progress in preparing for their field work component. An extensive taxonomic workshop had been planned from the 16th-22nd March, in Delhi, , to perfect and harmonise field methods. Unfortunately, due to the current outbreak, the workshop has been postponed for a later date. However the members of WP 3.1 and TERI SAS have been incredibly resourceful and conducted virtual meetings to continue taxonomic training. The workshop focused on distinguishing important lichen species found in the himalayas, particularly those important for trade. The physiological impact of nitrogen pollution was also discussed to provide a detailed background before field work begins later in the project. The meeting also outlined next steps for the work package such as creating a lichen identification manual as well as future field visits and training workshops.

P A G E 2 S O U T H A S I A N N I T R O G E N H U B

MALDIVES STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT EVENT, MARCH 2020

Our partner, the National University, hosted a stakeholder engagement meeting with members from WP 3.2, our new partner the Maldives Marine Research Institute and members of the government of Sri Lanka. The meeting was very productive in determining current resources as well as outlining expectations and plans. The session allowed knowledge to be shared between stakeholders and suggestions were made on how the work of SANH can align with the needs of the Maldivian people such as modelling not only agricultural islands but large urban islands such as Malé. The discussions helped prepare the way for implementing further work on WP 3.2 and in strengthening new partnerships. Members of SANH WP 3.2 at the Maldives Stakeholder Engagement Meeting Credit: Mark Sutton E THICS, SAFEGUARDING AND MEL Conducting research to the highest standard is one of the most more important aspects of SANH. In order to ensure the highest quality research, it is vital that we consider many aspects such as ethics and safeguarding. It is also important that we are able to track our progress and constantly evolve and improve as the project goes on. Therefore we are introducing a set of short, training modules on subjects like ethics, safeguarding and MEL (monitoring, evaluation and learning). These courses will provide further information on these topics and can help WP leads and project partners incorporate these important topics into their work to improve the overall quality of our research. The courses will be rolled out shortly and also provide an opportunity for partners to earn training certificates at different levels to recognise their skills in each of these areas. We are also establishing an ethics committee to discuss important ethical issues in our research and we are currently looking for volunteers to become ethics champions in the project. If you are interested in joining the ethics committee please contact [email protected]. Kandy Region, Sri Lanka Meeting Credit: Philip Skuce S ACEP REGIONAL E- WORKSHOP

The SACEP Regional Workshop on developing a Roadmap for Sustainable Nitrogen Management in has now been postponed but preparations are still well underway. Exact dates are yet to be confirmed and the workshop will include representatives from all South Asian governments to discuss what their current national policies on nitrogen are and to share recommendations on how nitrogen can be better managed across the region. Many members of SANH are getting involved with the meeting and a group has been created to help prepare briefing notes to better inform policy makers of the key nitrogen science in the region. This workshop will be the first of many policy engagement events which aim to raise awareness of the issue of nitrogen pollution and its impacts. SACEP Director General Abas Basir Credit: SACEP REPORTING MARCH 2020 Thank you to all our project partners and WP Leads who have completed the reporting for the March 2020 Quarter. This information assisted the co-ordination team in submitting information to the ResearchFish reporting system and helped to inform the annual report. Our next reporting period is coming up next month in May/June. P A G E 3 Kandy Region, Sri Lanka Meeting Credit: Philip Skuce