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MARSA

DFG Transfer Project: Mitigation Assessments for Rice produced in Southeast Asia:
Digital Platform for Quantification and Planning exemplified for Vietnam

Development of a digital platform based on process-based modelling for quantification of greenhouse gas emissions from rice-based agricultural systems in Vietnam.

Background:

CH₄ emissions from rice account globally for less than 1.5% of all GHG emissions, but the respective percentages could be fairly high at the national scale for rice-growing countries. In the case of Vietnam, rice accounts for 49.3 % of all emissions from agriculture corresponding to 13.5% of the total national emissions (reference year: 2013). These figures were adopted from the 3^rd National Communications (see below) that were based on the IPCC 2006 guidelines. At present, almost all rice-growing countries including Vietnam are using the IPCC Tier 2 approach for which an emission factor (kg CH₄ ha_-1 d^-1) is multiplied by rice area (in ha), cultivation period (in days), and scaling factors to account for specific crop management practices.

Cover page of 3rd National Communications to UNFCCC

The project approach

In contrast to the currently used Tier 2 approach, the IPCC Tier 3 approach is based on simulation models that could substantially increase the accuracy of the GHG estimates as long as the model is backed up by more detailed data on crop management. While the model LandscapeDNDC was validated for rice production in a previous project with the acronym ICON, the use of this model requires highly resolved databases as well as trained personnel proficient in pre- and post-processing of data inputs and outputs. Therefore, the project develops a user-friendly digital platform (see figure above) comprising a structured data repository and a Graphics User Interface (GUI) that simplifies the model runs and allows high flexibility in terms of the selection of different databases as inputs as well as output formats. The Vietnamese project partner, the Institute of Agricultural Environment, has been assigned to compute the emissions from rice production in the forthcoming 4^th National Communications so that the project accomplishments can swiftly be translated into a GHG inventory at the national scale based on Tier 3 which would be the 1^st of its kind for any rice growing country.

Project activities

In the initial year of the project, the project team focused on the major activities

1. Development of a beta version of the LandscapeDNDC User Interface for agricultural rice systems (https://dss.susalps.de/rice2/) alongside data compilation

The newly developed beta version of the “LandscapeDNDC User Interface for agricultural rice systems” (LUI-Rice) provides user-friendly access to process-based simulations of rice systems under various field management scenarios. While this version incorporates the basic functionalities of the intended GUI at the site scale, the extrapolation of emission estimates at the national scale still has to be developed. Likewise, the compilation of relevant data for both model validation and GHG regionalization started in the first project year but is still a work in progress.

2. Interaction with Vietnamese stakeholders

the project team organized a kick-off meeting in Hanoi (27/ 28 Sept. 2022) to introduce the project to stakeholders based in Vietnam and discussed project collaboration and implementation with them. The meeting helped identify challenges of project implementation and the demands of the stakeholders on model/software GUI. Per stakeholders’ requests, we proposed training modeling skills for local partners (i.e., IAE) and collaborating with them for data collection. We developed a strategy for project implementation as testing the model application for sites to scale up the application for the entire Thai Binh and then Vietnam. The workshop was followed by a 1-d planning meeting at IAE to discuss further details of the cooperation under the project framework.

In the months ensuing the workshop, Dr. Tanh Nguyen presented the project in several meetings in Southeast Asia. This included an invited presentation on “Improving Mitigation Assessments for Vietnamese Rice Production through a Digital Platform” for the International Rice Research Institute IRRI (24 October 2022, online) to introduce the principles of data digitalizing approach for the mitigation assessment. Dr. Nguyen also introduced LandscapeDNDC to Vietwater Expo on 8-11 Nov 2022 at Ho Chi Minh City. Finally, Dr. Nguyen the fundamentals of LandscapeDNDC at a meeting of the Asian Institute of Technology (9-10 March 2023, Bangkok, Thailand) to enhance the knowledge of participants from Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, and Vietnam.

3. Case study for one Vietnamese province

As agreed in the planning meeting, Dr. Tanh Nguyen is presently conducting a GHG assessment at the scale of one province jointly with a staff member from IAE who will join KIT as a Ph.D. scholar. This work included field visits to Thai Binh Province as well as training sessions on LandscapeDNDC model. This case study currently encompasses three measurement sites in Thai Binh for model validation.

Funding:

Funded by German Research Foundation (DFG)
Funding period: 2022 – 2025

Cooperation:

Institute of Agricultural Environment, Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Hanoi, Vietnam

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