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Celebrating World Water Day by reducing nitrogen waste; protecting our groundwaters starts with Nitrogen

GEF-UNEP/UKCEH INMS Project

By IW:LEARN

March 21^st, 2022

GEF IW:LEARN World Water Day 2022 Special Bulletin

Following COP-26 in Glasgow, the second part of the 5th United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA5.2) served as a critical point for countries to build on the momentum and energy gained from COP-26, and further strengthen their commitments to protect the environment and work to reverse the impacts of climate change.

During this World Water Day, we wish to celebrate the historic gains and commitments made by UN Member States at UNEA5.2, as seen with the adoption of the second Resolution on Sustainable Nitrogen Management (UNEP/EA.5/L.12/Rev.1) on 2nd March 2022.

Since nitrogen is everywhere and invisible, including having an immense impact on our water systems, the adoption of this Resolution has shown that countries are willing to tackle nitrogen waste, while also making landmark gains to protect our water in the process.

UNEA5.2 session in Nairobi. Source: ISSD ENB

INMS as a science-policy support process in action

The Resolution was championed by the Government of Sri Lanka, who was joined by UNEP-UKCEH/GEF INMS Project Director, Professor Mark Sutton, as a technical expert of the country’s UNEA5.2 delegation. The Resolution was co-sponsored by Brazil, Maldives, Pakistan and Uganda.

The importance of INMS’ contribution to the development and eventual adoption of this Resolution is made clear in the text below, which takes note of INMS as well as the ‘International Nitrogen Assessment’ (INA). The INA will be the first publication of its kind, and a major output of the INMS Project, set for publication in Spring 2023.

“Taking note further…to produce the international nitrogen assessment, delivered through the GEF-UNEP project towards the establishment of an international nitrogen management system with support from the Global Environment Facility and other stakeholders, prior to the sixth session of the Environment Assembly”

Excerpt of the Resolution on Sustainable Nitrogen Management (UNEP/EA.5/L.12/Rev.1)

This landmark text is a clear example of INMS’ science-policy work in action, as well as the catalytic nature of GEF-funded projects. This Resolution is also a historic first in that it is the first time that UN Member States have agreed to reduce nitrogen waste and to set a date of 2030, further demonstrating the urgency of the nitrogen challenge.

Prof Mark Sutton outside UNEA 5.2 in Nairobi. Source:@MarkNitrogen) / Twitter

How does the resolution on sustainable nitrogen management help protect groundwater?

Currently global-economy-wide nitrogen use is very inefficient, with a large proportion of anthropogenic reactive nitrogen lost to the environment. This excess nitrogen has severe impacts on species composition in terrestrial, freshwater and coastal ecosystems, with cascading effects on biodiversity, soil, water and air quality, ecosystem function and human well-being.

The figure ‘Nitrogen inputs and flows in water bodies’ illustrates the connection between groundwater and the nitrogen cycle. As shown, run-off from agriculture and industry, wastewater, and river and submarine groundwater discharge represent the major pathways by which nitrogen, in its many chemical forms, reaches freshwaters, to coastal waters and eventually to the ocean.

Groundwater acts as both a receptor (see no. 5 and 6 in figure) of nitrogen pollution and a pathway to surface water (see no. 4 in figure) and river systems (see no.7 in figure).

Figure description: 1: Direct (point source) discharge to water bodies; 2: Surface/subsurface flows from diffuse sources e.g. agriculture; 3: Rootzone flux to rivers; 4: Abstraction (groundwater to surface); 5: Rootzone to vadose (area between the water table) zone flux; 6: Vadose zone to groundwater; 7: Submarine groundwater discharge; 8: Riverine fluxes to the coastal ocean; 9: Biological N2 fixation as a flux to the ocean.

Nitrogen inputs and flows in water bodies. Source: INMS

One type of nitrogen pollution in groundwater, Nitrates, can pose a significant risk to clean drinking water, while excess nutrient (including nitrogen) loads can lead to harmful algal blooms, oxygen deficiencies in water and fish kills, impacting livelihoods, ecosystems and food security.

The transformation of nitrogen at various stages of the cycle adds a further level of complexity in understanding the movement of nitrogen in and out of aquatic systems, as does the fact that the level of reactive nitrogen and environmental variables differ immensely around the world.

In order to assess the impact of nitrogen-related issues in different environments the ‘Towards INMS’ project has seven regional demonstration sites throughout the world. All of these regional demonstration sites involve international waters, either watersheds or receiving waters, and will provide critical insights into the regional impacts of too much and too little nitrogen.

Why is the UNEA5.2 Resolution significant and how did we get here?

While the first UNEA Resolution on Sustainable Nitrogen Management (EA.4/Res.14), adopted at UNEA4 in March 2019, set the stage for urgent work on nitrogen, this second Resolution is important because it includes a historic ambition to “significantly reduce nitrogen waste globally by 2030 and beyond". It is also the first time that a UN agreement has embraced the concept of "nitrogen waste"; a concept that was first introduced in Bali at the Our Ocean Conference (October 2016) as a commitment by the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI) to save 100 billion USD per year. The concept of nitrogen waste was then further embraced by 14 countries in October 2019 by signing the Colombo Declaration, with the ambition to "halve nitrogen waste by 2030". This is important because reducing nitrogen waste means that limited nitrogen resources can then go further to better contribute to food supplies.

What are the next steps?

Moving forward, INMS is working to complete and publish the first International Nitrogen Assessment (INA) by Spring 2023, which will provide countries with the scientific underpinning for future action on nitrogen.

INMS is also working to further progress on the "modalities" for inter-convention coordination for nitrogen, in partnership with UNEP’s Nitrogen Working Group and in support of the development of the ‘Interconvention Nitrogen Coordination Mechanism’ (INCOM).

About the INMS Project

For more information on the GEF-UNEP/UKCEH INMS Project, please contact the Project Manager Nicole Read (inms@ceh.ac.uk), visit the project website, the #Nitrogen4NetZero page and the project page on iwlearn.net. You can also follow Prof. Mark Sutton @MarkNitrogen and the GEF INMS Project @TowardsINMS on Twitter or watch out for #Nitrogen4NetZero.