Back to news
17 Mar 2015 | Atmosphere Initiative

Conference on alternatives to open agricultural burning

1 min Read

70% Complete

To discuss the extent to which open burning of agricultural residue and waste causes black carbon emissions and to explore mitigation options, a two-day long conference titled ‘Mitigation of Emissions from Open Agricultural Burning in the Wider Himalayan Region’ was held from 20 to 21 February in Kathmandu, Nepal. The event was jointly organized by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI) with sponsorship from the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC).

During the conference, Dr Jessica McCarthy of Michigan Technological University presented the monthly maps of fire hotspots detected by the MODIS satellite sensors from 2003 and 2013. The maps show the location and timing of large agricultural fires.  Around the Himalayan region, burning is most prevalent in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Mongolia, Nepal, and Pakistan. Dr Arnico Panday from ICIMOD pointed out that while MODIS captures large fires under clear skies, it does not capture the small short-duration fires of piles of agricultural residue that are common across the HKH region.

In his presentation, Dr Svante Bodin from the ICCI stressed the importance of involving local communities in achieving environmental targets. He said that the CCAC scoping project in the Himalayan region would seek to “answer basic questions like where and when the burning take place, identify the crops that are being burned, the farmers’ reason/s for burning particular crops/lands, and possible alternatives.”

Experts from the region explored alternative methods and options to reduce open burning of the most common crops. They identified potential solutions such as conservation agriculture and other alternative agricultural practices, as well as the conversion of waste and residues to biogas, providing a local source of energy. Over 30 representatives of the scientific community, government officials, international organizations, farmers and farmer organizations, and other relevant experts in agriculture, air quality and health issues, adaptation and climate change participated in the conference.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

related contents

Continue exploring this topic

9 Oct 2017 News
Looking Forward to Bounce Back Better from Floods

The statistics about the damages of the 2017 floods are endless and compelling. The images of the flooding even ...

13 Nov 2018 CryoHub
ICIMOD’s partners in Nepal hail successful cryosphere research collaboration

In collaboration with the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM), the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS), Tribhuvan University (TU), ...

24 Jul 2019 Cryosphere
Reassessing Tsho Rolpa glacial lake

Tsho Rolpa is a large, potentially dangerous glacial lake in Nepal that has been the subject of extensive research and ...

26 Sep 2016 News
Partner Relationships Management System Version 2.0 launched

A Partner Relationships Management (PRM) System Version 2.0 was launched coinciding with planning and review meeting of the International Centre ...

31 Jul 2015 News
Hope for Kyaung Taung’s water woes

The village of Kyaung Taung in the Inle Lake area in Myanmar sits atop a hill overlooking Heho city. And ...

1 Feb 2016 News
Post-earthquake Management in Tibet

The April 2015 earthquake had far reaching impacts in the HKH region. Although the epicentre was north-west of Kathmandu, Nepal, ...

26 Jul 2018 Solar Pumps
Fifty-three Solar-powered Irrigation Pumps Operational in Four Districts of Nepal

The pumps were installed by the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) with support from the Australian Department of ...

20 Feb 2015 News
ICIMOD and partners launch project on community-based water use planning

The workshop aimed to explain how the concept of water use master plan (WUMP) ...