1. Global Research Alliance
on agricultural greenhouse gases
Date: Hayden Montgomery
10/31/2012 Secretariat

2. Summary
1. Background
2. Partner Organisations
3. Membership
4. Structure
5. Research Groups
a. Croplands Research Group
b. Livestock Research Group
c. Paddy Rice Research Group
6. Cross-cutting Groups
a. Soil Carbon and Nitrogen cycling Cross-cutting Group
b. Inventories and Measurement Cross-cutting Group
7. Work Areas
8. Fellowships and Award opportunities

3. 1. Background: The Alliance
The Alliance was launched in December 2009 in response to
increasing global concerns.
• Agriculture is vital in achieving food security, poverty
reduction and sustainable development.
• The agricultural sector is vulnerable to the impacts of
climate change
• Agriculture must meet the increasing global demand for
food while reducing greenhouse emissions.
• The agricultural sector has many opportunities to contribute
to emissions reductions and carbon sequestration while still
helping meet food security objectives.

4. 1. Background: The Alliance
• Improving efficiency and productivity of agricultural systems
through improved management practices and technologies.
• Helping to build resilience and adaptive capacity of
agricultural systems while helping to meet the increasing
demand for food in a sustainable manner.
• There is a need to increase research cooperation and
investment in mitigation practices and technologies in order
to develop more efficient and productive agricultural
systems.

5. 1. Background: Alliance Goals
The Alliance will seek to increase international cooperation,
collaboration and investment in both public and private
research activities to:
• Improve farmer access to new knowledge and technology;
• promote synergies between adaptation and mitigation;
• develop the science and technology to improve measurement
and estimation;
• develop consistent methods for measurement of greenhouse
gas emissions and carbon sequestration;
• facilitate the exchange of information;
• build scientists’ expertise through new exchange opportunities;
• develop partnerships.

6. 2. Partner Organisations
Several international organisations have joined the
Alliance as Partners:
• African Development Bank
• Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
• Food and Agriculture Organization
• Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture
• Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Centre
(CATIE)
• World Bank

7. 3. Membership
33 member countries:
Argentina Denmark Korea Philippines
Australia Finland Japan Spain
Brazil France Malaysia Sweden
Canada Germany Mexico Switzerland
Chile Ghana Netherlands Thailand
China Indonesia New Zealand UK
Colombia Italy Norway United States
Costa Rica Ireland Peru Uruguay
Vietnam

8. 3. Membership

9. 4. Structure
• Alliance Council
– chaired by different countries on a
rotating basis
• Three Research Groups
• Two Cross-cutting Groups
• Guided by a Charter
• Supported by a Secretariat

10. Cross-cutting Groups
5. Research Groups
Livestock Research Group
Nitrogen Cycling
Soil Carbon and
Inventory and
Croplands Research Group
Measurement
Paddy Rice Research Group

11. 5a. Research Groups: Croplands
Co-chairs: Brazil - Martin Ladislau-Neto (EMBRAPA)
USA - Steve Shafer (USDA-ARS)
Participants: All Alliance Member Countries
Three Research Components:
1. Quantifying net greenhouse gas emissions
Leaders: Guy Richard (France) and Chuck Rice (USA)
2. Greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural peatlands and
wetlands
Leaders: Lillian Øygarden (Norway), Åsa Kasimir Klemedtsson (Sweden),
Kristiina Regina (Finland)
3. Modelling C and N emissions
Leaders: Sylvain Pellerin (France), Nancy Cavallaro (USA)

12. 5b. Research Groups: Livestock
Co-chairs: the Netherlands – Martin Scholten (Wageningen UR)
New Zealand - Harry Clark (NZAGRC)
Participants: All Alliance Member Countries
Two Sub- Groups:
1. Ruminant
Leaders: Harry Clark (New Zealand) and Veronica Ciganda (Uruguay)
2. Non-Ruminant
Leaders: Paul Vrieskoop (the Netherlands), La Van Kinh (Vietnam)
Four Research Networks:
1. Animal Selection Genetics and Genomics
2. Feed and Nutrition
3. Manure Management
4. Ruminant Microbial Genomics

13. 5c. Research Groups: Paddy Rice
Co-chairs: Japan - Kazuyuki Yagi (NIAES)
Uruguay - Alvaro Roel (INIA-Uruguay)
Participants: 18 Countries participate in the work of the Group
Four Activities of Research:
1. Develop standardised measurement techniques.
2. Develop knowledge databases.
– Publications database
– Experts database
3. Understanding paddy field management and effective
mitigation techniques.
4. Encourage collaborative multi-country experiments.

14. 6a. Cross-cutting Groups: Soil
Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling
Co-chairs: Australia - Bill Slattery (DCCEE)
France - Jean-Francois Soussana (INRA)
Participants: 27 Countries participate in the work of the Group
Three major research areas:
1. Technical workshops
2. Identifying models
3. Testing and comparison of models

15. 6b. Cross-cutting Groups:
Inventories and Measurement
Co-chairs: Canada - Brian McConkey (Agriculture and Agri-food)
the Netherlands - Jan Verhagen (Wageningen UR)
Participants: 17 Countries participate in the work of the Group
Two major research areas:
1. Improved GHG quantification methodologies
– Deals with all inventories including formal country submissions
2. Guidance for GHG measurements
– Validation of models
– Identify existing mitigation opportunities

16. 7. Meeting the Alliance Goals
From stocktake toward scientific support to policies
Stocktake & Networks &
inventories databases
Capability Research
development collaboration
Info & Tech Policy support
transfer & links to int’l
activities
Common understanding Concerted actions

17. 7a. Stocktake and Inventories
Facilitate the sharing of data experience and information
• Surveys of regional agriculture systems
– South East Asia
– Africa
SF6 Tracer Technique – South America
Guidelines
Workshop, NZ 2011 • Stocktakes of countries capability and
capacity
• Stocktake of agricultural greenhouse gas
models
Nitrous Oxide Chamber
Methodology • Survey of management practices and
workshop, NZ 2011 mitigation methodologies

18. 7b. Networks and Databases
Research and science coordination Rumen Microbial
Genomics
in targeted areas network meeting, NZ 2011
• Feed and nutrition network
• Manure management network
• Irrigation Network
• Croplands GHG emissions network
• Ruminant microbial genomics network
• Inter-comparison of models, across Research Groups
• Animal selection genetics and genomics network

19. 7c. Capability Development
Regional capability to reduce GHG intensity consistent
with economies and development goals
South-east Asia Technical
• Fellowships, Awards and Exchanges Capability Building
Project, Thailand 2012
• Regional technical workshops
• South East Asia
• Kenya, Africa
• Ghana, Africa
• Regional Projects (South America, South East Asia)

20. 7d. Research Collaboration
Knowledge and technology development that would not
have happened without the Alliance
• International collaboration of croplands research sites – GHG
emissions and carbon sequestration
• Collaboration with the EU – JPI FACCE, AnimalChange
• Measuring emissions from agricultural peatlands, with the FAO
• Global catalogue of rumen microbes
• Identifying low CH4 emitting livestock
FONTAGRO meeting in
Uruguay 2012

21. 7e. Information and Technology
Transfer
Improve access to knowledge and technologies
• Greenhouse gas • Developing guidelines and
measurement meeting methodologies
• Literature databases • Paddy Rice measurement
- Croplands standards
- Paddy Rice • Livestock emissions manuals
• Experts database
GHG Measurement Platform
- Paddy Rice Meeting, UK 2011

22. 7f. Policy Support and links to
International Activities
Efficient and effective use of research funding
• Comparison of models to identify mitigation options for
carbon and nitrogen emissions
• Water management options in irrigated paddy rice fields
with the CGIAR and IRRI
• Support international inventory methodologies
Ministerial
Summit, signing of the
Alliance Charter, Rome
2011

23. 8. Fellowship and Award Opportunities
Awards offered by Member countries to support the Alliance
Borlaug Fellowships - Global Research Alliance
– US Dept. of Agriculture & US Agency for International Development
– Competitive selection of early to mid-career scientists in GRA
developing countries; work with a mentor in the US for up to 3 months
http://www.fas.usda.gov/icd/borlaug/special_programs/GRA/GRA%20Main.asp
LEARN/GRASS New Zealand fellowships
– LEARN fellowships awarded to developing country Scientists –
Technician, Post-Doc, Co-Funded PhD
– GRASS award is an opportunity for established scientists to travel and
share their work.
http://www.livestockemissions.net/funding-opportunities.html

24. For more information
www.globalresearchalliance.org
secretariat@globalresearchalliance.org