9th International Nitrogen Conference
The 9th International Nitrogen Conference, to be hosted at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in Delhi, India on February 5-8, 2024
Reactive nitrogen (Nr) compounds could be a boon in the right place, such as nutrient-deficient soils or food systems, but also a bane in the wrong place, when they accumulate in our air, water or upper atmosphere. While there is too little Nr for food security in some regions, its excess causes Nr pollution in most other parts of the world. This is one of the most important threats facing our planet’s sustainability, hampering our ability to meet the sustainable development goals including, but not limited to human health, environment, biodiversity and climate change.
The main concerns are the global rise in anthropogenic NOx emissions from fossil fuel and waste burning, apart from N2O and NH3 emissions to air and leakage of nitrate and ammonium to water bodies, predominantly from inefficient use of synthetic fertilizers and manures. Managing this delicate balance between environmental protection and agricultural/industrial production is our central challenge in this era of global change. Over the last two decades, the triennial conferences of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI) brought together the latest research findings to the attention of scientists, governments intergovernmental agencies and the civil society.
This has led to two UNEA resolutions on Sustainable Nitrogen Management, a growing ambition of halving nitrogen waste, the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy (the food system pillar of the European Green Deal) and the recent post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. The 9th International Nitrogen Conference will showcase the latest research on all aspects of reactive nitrogen production, use and loss, across all sectors and its impacts. It also brings together a wide array of international stakeholders to promote awareness and accelerate action towards sustainable nitrogen management. We hope you can join us!
Welcome to the 9th triennial INI conference in New Delhi
It is my great pleasure to invite you to the 9th International Nitrogen Conference on February 5-8, 2024, at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in New Delhi, India! The overarching theme of the conference will be “Balancing Global Change and Sustainability”. As nitrogen’s role in geopolitical, environmental, agricultural, economic and sociocultural systems and crises becomes ever clearer, from local to global scales, it is critical for the scientific community to continue pushing the boundaries of our understanding of this element we are all obsessed with.
We are excited to hear from scientists from across the world and on the vast array of issues that nitrogen touches. This includes research from the social sciences and humanities that have yet to be fully integrated in past INI conferences, including sociology, history, politics, policy, diplomacy and more. We are also delighted to provide forums to discuss nitrogen governance, technology and other key aspects of the nitrogen challenge. Whether this is your first or ninth INI conference, we look forward to seeing you in New Delhi!
David Kanter, INI Chair
Welcome back to New Delhi for the INI conference
Namaste! It is indeed our great pleasure to invite you to New Delhi yet again, 14 years after N2010, to the 9th International Nitrogen Conference (N2024). Indian scientists recognized the nitrogen challenge two decades ago, formed the Indian Nitrogen Group, partnered with INI to set up its South Asia office, hosted N2010 and conducted the first Indian Nitrogen Assessment (Abrol et al., 2017). This led India to chair the INI and the India-led UN resolution on Sustainable Nitrogen Management (UNEA 4/14).
For its implementation, India set up a national Nitrogen Committee and co-chairs the UNEP Working Group on Nitrogen with Romania. India welcomes efforts to build on these initiatives through N2024, as well as to highlight the outcomes of international projects such as the GEF-UNEP-INI ‘Towards International Nitrogen Management System’ and the UKRI-GCRF ‘South Asian Nitrogen Hub’. India is actively involved in them for the South Asian and Global Nitrogen Assessments, coordinated through the Sustainable India Trust, an INI partner and a UNEP-accredited S&T major stakeholder civil society organisation based in New Delhi.
As an academic partner, the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University is particularly glad to welcome you to its brand-new Conference Complex in its Silver Jubilee year.
Prof N. Raghuram
