Back to news
17 Mar 2015 | Air pollution solutions

Workshop to improve brick kiln policy and technologies

2 mins Read

70% Complete

A workshop on Brick Kilns Policy and Advocacy Network (PAN) was jointly organized by Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) from 18 to 20 February 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The workshop sought to identify and disseminate sound practices and technologies of brick making.

Brick production is a major source of black carbon and other short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). Asian countries account for 90% of the 1.5 trillion bricks produced every year. The workshop aimed to improve brick kiln policy by taking into account the economic, technological, environmental, and social context of each country and setting up a plan to take PAN forward. It was noted that emissions could be reduced by 10-15% by using more efficient technologies, mainly during the firing of bricks.

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Chandra Maharjan, a Constituent Assembly member who is also a brick kiln entrepreneur, stressed the need to encourage the public to use bricks produced from cleaner kilns by introducing policies like annual home tax refunds. The workshop provided a platform for exploring effective policies and sharing experiences of implementing efficient energies in the brick sector in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Participants discussed regulatory frameworks for devising effective policies for transforming the brick-making sector in the three target regions, as well as identified experts from India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Nepal and Bangladesh willing to join the network.

About 50 participants, including brick experts, government officials, representatives of international organizations, brick kiln owners and media representatives attended the conference.

A day trip to a brick kiln in Shwet Bhairab Itta at Bhaktapur (fixed chimney zigzag kiln) and Shree Satya Narayan Brick Factory (vertical shaft brick kiln) at Imadol was also organized as part of the workshop.

The PAN Asia is being implemented by ICIMOD, and will be a key CCAC component for supporting four HKH countries – Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Pakistan – in developing comprehensive national strategies for cleaner brick production through regional consultation with stakeholders and technical experts from Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Nepal. The consultation process will identify available and suitable regulatory frameworks to help devise effective policies and/or policy implementation approaches for transforming the Asian brick-making sector.

PAN Asia will support national stakeholders to develop national strategy and policy frameworks for each of the countries, taking into account their unique social, political, market, and resource conditions.

Further, it will identify analyse existing brick kiln technologies and identify policy gaps in each country being represented, including Nepal, Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. It will also allow the countries to learn about the effective brick kiln policies and efficient energy initiatives that are being implemented across Asia, Latin America and Africa.

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

Professional Exchange Programme

Dema Yangzom, an engineer from the Department of Hydro-Met Services (DHMS) in ...

Piloting of the Biodiversity Monitoring Protocol for REDD+ conducted in Parsa Wildlife Reserve, Nepal

Though a few biodiversity monitoring manuals and guidelines from the Government of Nepal (GoN), National Trust for Nature Conservation (

22 Mar 2015 News
The Himalayan waters: complex challenges and regional solutions

It is difficult to think of a resource more essential to the wellbeing of people and their economies than water, ...

12 Jul 2016 Atmosphere Initiative
Dispelling Air Pollution Myths in Kathmandu

People in the region have taken a great interest in air pollution. The risks of air pollution affecting people may ...

20 Nov 2018 Atmosphere Initiative
Valley Mayors Commit to Clean Valley Air

The two-hour event included experts’ briefings on the current scientific understanding of air pollution, on the possible solutions that municipalities ...

26 Jul 2018 DFAT Brahmaputra
Bhutanese Foresters Trained in Spring Revival and Springshed Management

WMD is collaborating with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) to build capacity for reviving drying springs in ...

13 Jun 2017 Atmosphere Initiative
Creating New Data Sets for Emissions Inventory

In Nepal, many community forests are involved in the production of charcoal from forest materials generated from the annual cutting ...

10 Sep 2018 HI-RISK
Trails of Disaster: Experiences from a Trip to Barhabise

At the end of June 2018, I participated in a field visit 40–70 km east of Kathmandu, to the tributaries ...