February 2014: The Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) Quick Start Programme (QSP) Trust Fund Implementation Committee (TFIC) has agreed to fund four new chemicals projects in Albania, Costa Rica, Lesotho and Yemen. A further 13 government projects have been approved and prioritized for funding when it becomes available.
The Lesotho project on ‘Strengthening the capacity of small holder farmers, extension staff and pesticide dealers on judicious use of herbicides’ aims to develop a capacity-building strategy to enhance knowledge on general use of pesticides among extension staff, farmers and agro-chemical retailers. Yemen’s ‘Chemical Risk Assessment Training and Updating the National Chemical Profile to include Mercury’ plans to evaluate the current situation of chemicals management, highlighting problems in chemicals import, use and institutional cooperation.
‘Raising Awareness and Building Capacities on Pesticide Management in frame of Strengthening SAICM Implementation’ in Albania aims to assist in integrating an environmental dimension into national development priorities in rural areas. ‘Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) phase out and alternatives in Costa Rica’ was submitted by the Regional Institute for Research on Toxic Substances (IRET), and aims to directly address problems caused by HHP use, risky practices and pesticide-related harm to human health, biodiversity and natural resources in Costa Rica.
According to the meeting report, an additional 13 government projects with a combined value of US$3,094,648 received approval or conditional approval without funding. When QSP Trust Fund funds become available, these projects will receive priority funding in the following order: Ukraine; the Republic of Guinea; Uzbekistan; Djibouti; Mongolia (on building health public health management capacity); Sri Lanka; Honduras and Nicaragua; the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Moldova; Belarus and Ukraine; Mongolia (on developing a Pollutant Release and Transport Register); Serbia; Barbados; and Viet Nam.
The TFIC met in Vienna, Austria, from 23-26 November 2013, and the provisional report of the meeting (SAICM/TF.16/6) was recently made available on the SAICM website. [16th QSP Implementation Committee Meeting documents]