Back to news
25 Jul 2019 | Air pollution solutions

A more efficient brick sector through collaboration and mitigation actions

ICIMOD concluded two key regional meetings in Bangkok aimed at planning collective actions for cleaner and more sustainable brick production in South Asia. Brick entrepreneurs from the region came together for the third Federation of South Asian Brick Kilns Association (FABKA) meeting on 18 and 19 June 2019 to strengthen the association, which was formed in February 2018, and outline its regional approach towards improving the brick sector. FABKA founder members – Federation of Nepal Brick Industries (FNBI), All India Brick and Tile Manufacturers Federation (AIBTMF), Bangladesh Brick Manufacturing Owners Association (BBMOA), and Brick Kiln Owners’ Association of Pakistan (BKOA) – worked with an appointed lawyer to finalize and officially endorse the FABKA draft Constitution and Roadmap over the course of the workshop. ICIMOD will continue to strengthen FABKA during this crucial nascent stage till it is ready to function independently.

1 min Read

70% Complete
Inauguration of the newly established FABKA secretariat in Kathmandu. ICIMOD, 2019.

At the second Policy and Advocacy Network Asia (PAN) meeting on 20 and 21 June 2019, ICIMOD provided government representatives and decision makers from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan with an overview of existing gaps, issues, policies, and way forward. Speaking during the meeting, Eklabya Sharma, Deputy Director General, ICIMOD, urged representatives from brick sectors to meet the demand for bricks in a clean and sustainable way by optimizing South–South learning and adopting cleaner technologies from China, Latin America, Myanmar, and Vietnam. ICIMOD worked with country-level sector experts to develop country-specific issue briefs on the brick sector in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. These were finalized during the meeting and will be a valuable resource in planning the way forward.

Dechen Tsering, Regional Director of UN Environment’s Asia and the Pacific Office, highlighted the need to elevate the agenda of the brick sector and short-lived climate pollutants, given their impacts on air pollution, health, and the environment. Bidya Banmali Pradhan, Programme Coordinator – Brick Initiative, ICIMOD, reinforced the potential trifecta of benefits from clean brick production: to the environment, to production practices and productivity, and to social and working conditions.

The FABKA event was organized by the Department for International Development (DFID)-Nepal funded Clean Brick Initiative project. The PAN Asia event was conducted through the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC)-funded Mitigating Black Carbon and Other Pollutants from Brick Production project.

1. The brick sector can help countries achieve their mitigation goals, address air pollution, and reduce local impacts while significantly contributing to reduce global warming. Photo: ICIMOD

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

RELATED CONTENTS

Continue exploring this topic

30 Jul 2019 Livelihoods
Our biodiversity, our food, our health

Agricultural biodiversity is essential to ensuring food security, nutrition, and human wellbeing. The diversity in crops and livestock seen today ...

25 May 2016 Himalica
Farmers Learn Beekeeping in Pilot Villages in Bhutan and Nepal

More than one-third of households have two to ten colonies of bees in traditional fixed-comb log-comb, wall-comb, or pitcher hives ...

13 Oct 2015 News
Improving Accuracy of Measuring Stream Discharge for Reducing Flood Vulnerabilities

  ICIMOD took another step in improving the quality of hydrometeorological data collection that will contribute to reducing flood vulnerabilities in ...

16 Mar 2015 News
Challenges of hill communities in Nuwakot District

We visited four government agencies in the district: the District Forest Office (DFO), the District Agriculture Development Office (DADO), the ...

30 Jun 2017 KSL
KSLCDI Receives Special Grant Spotlight

The Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KSLCDI)’s efforts to link cultural heritage with conservation and development has received ...

9 Mar 2015 News
Improving Rapid Response Mapping and Information System

One of the main challenges for countries prone to disaster events, such as Nepal, ...

28 Dec 2018 News
ICIMOD receives Global Outstanding Achievement Award 2018

The Transboundary Landscape Programme facilitates cooperation based on shared ecosystems between countries and has fostered partnerships with over 55 government ...

7 Feb 2020 KSL
Including neglected voices in natural resource management planning

Women are primary users of natural resources; yet their voices are rarely sought when plans are prepared to manage natural ...