"IBBI - Asian perspective" at AsiaFlux Workshop 2013

Summary (courtesy Meehye Lee)

AsiaFlux International Workshop 2014, Session J2 "IBBI - Asian perspective" 

Brief description of major concerns or questions or problem:

  • Biomass burning is a major sources of air pollutants including CO2, reactive trace gases, and aerosols, particularly in Asia, the emission of carbonaceous compounds is the largest in the world.
  • However, it is still in question how much and what kind of species are emitted from specific types of biomass burning such as forest fire, agricultural clearing, or burning of crop residue at home and biomass such as wood, rice, or corn.

Major findings to communicate to science community:

  • The burning of crop residue produces a considerable amounts of PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) as well as CO, CO2, and NOx.
  • The emission from residential sector through burning wood and crop residues are significant sources of EC, OC, PM2.5, and NOx
  • PAHs are one class of HAPS (hazardous atmospheric pollutants) to affect human health and known to be carcinogen.

Key message to communicate to the society:

How can we effectively prevent biomass combustion at residential sector and for agricultural purpose such as technological transfer or financial support for the poor?