Assessing and managing nitrogen sustainably is imperative for achieving the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targeted for 2030. South Asian countries, aware of the environmental and health impacts of nitrogen pollution, regionally as well as globally, piloted the 2019 UN resolution on Sustainable Nitrogen Management, calling for urgent policy action. This paper assists South Asia policy development by providing new insights into nitrogen-related policies in the region; it makes a step-change advance on an existing global analysis and database. We built on available methods to better identify, classify and analyse 966 nitrogen-related policies for the region. We compared the global and regional nitrogen policy landscapes to explain the benefits of a deeper policy assessment. The policies we classified as having ‘higher’ relevance – those with direct reference to nitrogen and/or its potential impacts – represent the current nitrogen policy landscape for South Asia. We show that a small proportion of policies (9%) consider multiple pollution sources, sectors, nitrogen threats and impacts, with integrative policy instruments. 5% of policies also consider both non-point and point sources of pollution, representing standout policies. More such policies with an integrated approach are vital in addressing the complexities of nitrogen pollution. Adapting existing and drafting new policies are both required to deal with other current and emerging nitrogen issues. Our analysis provides evidence for a roadmap for sustainable nitrogen policy in South Asia and beyond and supports efforts to reduce the threats posed by nitrogen pollution to achieve the SDGs.
Solid waste management in the Maldives is under extreme stress due to the unique nature of its geography and economic structure. Plastic pollution has been a growing concern for the Maldives. The purpose of this research study was to identify the current consumption patterns of the plastic items particularly single use plastics (SUP) as well as identifying the level of knowledge among the consumers about the SUP and consumer behavior to change and the public confidence level in drinking tap water. A questionnaire was used as the key instrument for primary data collection in this study. It enabled researchers to collect data in a standardized way so that the data were internally consistent for analysis. A total 817 out of 1095 responded to the survey from across the Maldives. The overall finding suggested that the majority of the consumers in the Maldives are still using single-use plastic in their everyday life. However, large percentage of consumers know the benefits of reducing plastic on human health and environment. With regard to the challenges or barriers in implementing the single-use plastic, consumers identified lack of available alternatives, higher costs, inconvenient transport, lack of hygiene, and time requirement. In addition, majority of the participants do not trust the quality of tap water in the country for various reasons, therefore, they prefer to consume bottle water. It seems there is an immense and urgent need to explore ways to increase consumers awareness and subsequent efforts to reduce the consumption of plastic in the country.
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