This volume provides a unique collection of contributions addressing both the “too much” and “too little” sides of the nitrogen story. The range of nitrogen threats examined, solutions evaluated and science-policy analyses presented here has provided the foundation to agree with the Kampala Statement-for-Action on Nitrogen in Africa and Globally, as reported in this volume.

Humanity today faces unprecedented challenges: How to feed a growing population? How to reduce air pollution, water pollution and climate change? How to handle regional differences in an era of increasing globalization? These questions are at the heart of this edited volume which examines the multi-dimensional nature of the global nitrogen challenge. While humans have massively altered the nitrogen cycle, the consequences have become polarized. Some regions have too much nitrogen, associated with pollution and wasteful use of a valuable resource, while other regions have too little nitrogen, leading to constraints on food production and depletion of soil nutrient stocks.

Together, the contributions in this book are now informing actions by the International Nitrogen Initiative in working with the UN Environment Programme and others to establish the International Nitrogen Management System . A key outcome has been to catalyze development of the first Resolution on Sustainable Nitrogen Management, as adopted by the fourth session of the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya in 2019.

Book chapters

The following chapters include contributions from SEI Researcher Kevin Hicks.

Sutton, M. A., Mason, K. E., Bleeker, A., Hicks, W. K., Masso, C., Raghuram, N., Reis, S. and Bekunda, M. (2020). Just Enough Nitrogen: Summary and Synthesis of Outcomes.  pp 1-25.

Winiwarter W., de Vries W., Grizzetti B., Hicks W. K., van Grinsven H. J. M. and Voss M. (2020) The INI European Regional Nitrogen Centre: Concepts and Vision. pp 445-455.

Sutton, M. A., Howard, C. M., Brownlie, W. J., Kanter, D. R., de Vries, W., Adhya, T. K., Ometto, J. P., Baron, J. S., Winiwarter, W., Ju, X., Masso, C., Oenema, O., Raghuram, N., van Grinsven, H. J. M., Van der Beck, I., Cox, C., Hansen, S. C. B., Ramachandran, R. and Hicks, W. K. (2020). Global Challenges for Nitrogen Science-Policy Interactions: Towards the International Nitrogen Management System (INMS) and Improved Coordination Between Multi-lateral Environmental Agreements. pp 517-560.

Sutton, M. A., Ebanyat, P., Raghuram, N., Bekunda, M., Tenywa, J. S., Winiwarter, W., Bleeker, A., Davidson, E. A., Erisman, J. W., de Vries, W., Galloway, J. N., Heffer, P., Hicks, W. K., Masso, C., Palm, C. A., Snyder, C. S., Vanlauwe, B. and Zingore, S. (2020). The Kampala Statement-for-Action on Reactive Nitrogen in Africa and Globally. pp 583-593