28 July 2015: Representatives from 13 Pacific island countries met to review progress as well as areas requiring further attention in carrying out the Pacific Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Release Reduction Project.

Meeting on 24 July 2015, in Suva, Fiji, the Steering Committee for the Project reviewed its six components and heard from participating countries regarding which portions are working as intended and which require further attention. The Committee was briefed on regional initiatives to manage and reuse used oil, and on an initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) to create stewardship systems for pesticide container management.

The other Project components involve development of national and regional strategies to combat unintentional POPs (uPOPs) releases, training and awareness in best practices in waste management, management and disposal of unwanted pesticides and POPs, and national technical assistance for activities following up on Stockholm Convention National Implementation Plans (NIPs).

The five-year, US$3.75 million Project, launched in 2013, is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), co-financed by the French Development Agency (AFD), executed by the Secretariat of Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and implemented by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and FAO. It seeks to help Pacific island countries that are Parties to the Stockholm Convention to reduce uPOPs releases, primarily through improved waste management, and fulfill their obligations under the Convention.

The 14 Pacific island Parties to the Stockholm Convention are Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. [SPREP Press Release] [Website of Pacific POPs Release Reduction Project]