Project objective

The project’s objective is to assist partner countries to realise the obligations imposed by international conventions on chemical safety. The responsible authorities in partner countries need to be in a position to:

• post notification of national-level chemical bans or restrictions
• make decisions regarding imports of prior informed consent (PIC) chemicals
• draw up inventories of persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
• organise financing for the safe disposal of POPs chemicals
• reduce emissions of POPs substances during manufacturing and combustion
• provide non-toxic alternatives to POPs chemicals.
  

Project concept

The project meets its goals by acting as a link between international negotiation processes for chemical safety (measures of UN institutions such as the FAO, UNEP, convention secretariats, etc.) and the work done on the ground in the partner countries. It also collaborates closely with other projects and technical cooperation programmes operating in the areas of environment, health, agriculture, commerce, water and transportation. Finally, it determines activities in consultation with experts at the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

Project activities include consulting and upgrading, supplying materials for pilot programmes and offering grants for training sessions and workshops.
The project uses the following chemicals management tools, improving them and tailoring them to the issues relevant to the respective partner country:

• Root-cause analysis and implementation of preventive measures against pesticide and industrial chemical pollution of water, soil and air, at the workplace and in foods
• Market analyses and creation of market launch strategies for alternative products and production methods in agriculture and industry
• Introduction of guidelines for chemicals management in small and medium-sized enterprises (training material and trainer manuals)
• Creation of strategies, including monitoring, for reducing emissions of toxic substances at industrial plants
• Training in classification and labelling for the transport and handling of hazardous chemicals (Globally Harmonized System)
• Collection and disposal of unusable chemicals (e.g., obsolete pesticides, PCB-contaminated transformer oil) 
• Coordination of collaboration among the actors (government agencies, the trade sector, industry, etc.) responsible for implementing the conventions in partner countries (moderation of coordination meetings, concepts for national and international networks, etc.)
• Involvement of private-sector actors, e.g., companies in the chemicals, biopesticides, industrial plant construction or hazardous waste disposal sectors.