Nitrogen Opportunities for Agriculture, Food & Environment: UNECE Guidance Document on Integrated Sustainable Nitrogen Management

‘Nitrogen Opportunities for Agriculture, Food & Environment’ is the first ever United Nations Guidance Document on Integrated Sustainable Nitrogen Management. It brings all major forms and impacts of nitrogen together for multiple environmental and economic benefits. The guidance document was published November 2020 by UKCEH. 

This major technical document is a new published version of the UNECE Guidance Document on Integrated Sustainable Nitrogen Management (ECE/EB.AIR/149) which was formally adopted by the Executive Body of the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution at its 40th session (18th December 2020).  It includes the original agreed text together with additional images, image captions, a foreword, author and contributor names and affiliations.

The Nitrogen Guidance Document focuses on agriculture in the context of the food system and environment. It identifies the principles of integrated sustainable nitrogen management, followed by measures to reduce nitrogen losses from livestock housing and manure storage, including measures to promote nutrient recovery. It then identifies measures to reduce nitrogen losses from organic and inorganic fertilizers, and measures that focus on landscape and land-use management, finishing by considering coherent ‘measures packages’. The Guidance Document is equally relevant to support national and international policies on air, water, climate, biodiversity, soils and stratospheric ozone depletion.

‘Nitrogen Opportunities for Agriculture, Food & Environment’ contributes to implementing UNEA Resolutions 4/14 and 5/2, and the Colombo Declaration ambition to halve nitrogen waste from all sources. It has been published by UKCEH on behalf of the Task Force on Reactive Nitrogen of the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, with the support of the GEF/UNEP International Nitrogen Management System and the European Commission.

Read Nitrogen Opportunities for Agriculture, Food & Environment here.