Vietnamese Methods to Reduce Methane 

Why in news?

• Vietnamese rice farmers are pioneering new methods to cut down on methane emissions.

Vietnamese Model of Rice Cultivation

• Irrigation Methods:Vietnamese Rice farmers are adopting a water-saving irrigation technique called alternate wetting and drying (AWD). AWD reduces methane emissions because it keeps paddies moist but not constantly flooded, unlike traditional methods.
• Using Drones: To save the labour costs they are opting drone technology.
• Stubble Disposal: Once crops are harvested, he no longer burns the rice stubble — a major cause of air pollution in Vietnam.  Instead, it’s collected by the Loc Troi Group for sale to other companies that use it as livestock feed and for growing straw mushrooms, a popular addition to stir-fries.

Rice Cultivation & Climate Change

• Rice is a semi-aquatic plant cultivated in flooded fields, where it thrives under a layer of stagnant water.
  • This creates the ideal anaerobic conditionsfor bacteria to thrive on decomposing organic matter (mainly rice straw residue) and release methane.
• Poor absorption by the rice plant of nitrogen-based fertilizers, often overused by farmers, leads to nitrous oxide emissions. 
• This phenomenon contributes significantly to global methane emissions,with rice production alone accounting for approximately 10% of these emissions worldwide.

India’s Methane Emissions through Agriculture

• India’s methane emissions in 2016 were 409 million tone CO2e of which, 96% was from Agriculture sector,14.46% from Waste sector, 10.62% from Energy sector and 0.96% was from Industrial Processes and Product Use sector.
• The two predominant sources of methane emissions in India are enteric fermentation and paddy cultivation. 

Measures to Reduce Methane Emissions

• National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA): This mission by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare promotes climate-resilient practices, including techniques that reduce methane emissions during rice cultivation.
• Livestock Management: The National Livestock Mission promotes practices that can reduce methane emissions from livestock. These practices include:
  • Green fodder production
  • Silage making
  • Chaff cutting
  • Total mixed ration feeding
• Biogas Programs:The New National Biogas and Organic Manure Programme (NNBOMP) and the Gobar-Dhan scheme encourage the use of biogas produced from cattle dung and organic waste.
• Though India has opted various measures, however, India is not currently part of the Global Methane Pledge, an international agreement to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030.

Status of National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)

Why in news?

• The National Clean Air Programme missed the 2024 target to push back pollution.

What is the NCAP?

• It  was launched by theMinistry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in January 2019 as a comprehensive initiative in partnership with various Ministries and States to improve air quality at city, regional and national level.
• It aims to improve air quality in 131 cities (non-attainment cities and Million Plus Cities) in 24 States by engaging all stakeholders.
• Features : Under NCAP, cities continuously violating annual PM levels in India need to prepare and implement annual Clean Air Action Plans (CAAPs).
  • To facilitate this, the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change has allocated ₹10,422.73 crore.
  • NCAP envisages reduction by20-30% in PM 10 concentration over baseline in 2017 by 2024. 
    • Target has been revised to achieve reduction in PM10 level up to 40% or achievement of national standards (60 µg/m3) by 2025-26.

Issues and Concerns

• Most cities proactively submitted their Clean Air Action Plans(CAAPs) yet their implementation has been inconsistent.
  • On average, only 60% of the allocated funds have been used thus far, according to the Ministry, with 27% of cities spending less than 30% of their designated budgets.
• Implementation delays hinder NCAP’ssuccess, particularly delays in approvals from the competent authorities (for example, the technical specification of tendering processes or for procuring products such as mechanical sweepers and electric buses).
• There is also alack of standard operating procedures for the implementation process.
• Time-consuming tasksrequired to implement control measures and the absence of well-defined timelines create further delays.
• Yet other reasons includebureaucratic red-tape and lingering doubts regarding the effectiveness of proposed mitigation measures.
• Pollution from high-emitting industries and other sources outside city limits, carried into urban areas by winds complicates urban air-quality management.
• According to the Portal for Regulation of Air-pollution in Non-Attainment cities, only 37% of cities have completed EI and SA studies, meaning the remaining 63% don’t have a clear idea about what is polluting their air.

Role of scientific tools

• Emissions Inventory (EI) and Source Apportionment (SA) studies are critical to identify and understand the origins of pollution.
  • EIs provide insights into local pollution sources and their contributions, allowing experts to forecast future emissions based on demographic shifts and technological advancements across sectors, among other factors.
  • EIs also help shape targeted pollution control strategies.
    • They have their limitations, too, particularly in assessing the impact of transboundary pollution sources — such as when determining the effect of stubble-burning outside Delhi on the city’s air quality.
  • SA studiesoffer a detailed analysis of contributions from various pollution sources, including those located afar.
    • However, they aren’t suited for predictive analysis and require substantial resources, including specialised personnel and equipment for chemical analysis.
    • SA studies also can’t distinguish between the origins of pollution, like, say, emissions from diesel trucks 200 m away and 20 km away, because diesel emissions have similar chemical signatures.
    • These gaps can be bridged through AQ modelling, which informs our understanding of pollution dispersion, including from distant sources.

Conclusion and Way Forward 

• The cities should look into EI and SA data to pinpoint air pollutants and prepare mitigation measures targeting each polluting activity.
  • Based on the potential and infrastructure requirements, cities need to set proper yearly targets and fund them.
• Many existing control measures focus only on primary PM emissions, neglecting their secondary precursors.
  • A shift towards comprehensive strategies addressing both primary and secondary pollutants is thus important.
• Beyond the need for data and models, swift implementation on the ground is essential.
  • For this, implementation agencies should seek to reduce bureaucratic red tape by utilising shared, standardised technical evaluations.
• As NCAP funding is linked with the performance of cities (based on the annual average PM concentration reduction), prior budgeting and time management play crucial roles.
  • Technical feasibility, budgeting, and time estimates need to be part of the initial plans.
• The journey towards cleaner air in India, as charted by NCAP, will be difficult but is necessary.
  • NCAP’s success hinges on a multifaceted approach that combines rigorous scientific studies, strategic funds, and swift and effective implementation of mitigation measures.