4 April 2013: In its role as the financial mechanism for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has approved 12 new POPs projects, totaling over US$43 million in GEF Trust Fund finance. Approved projects include regional projects in Asia and the Pacific, and Europe and Central Asia, and single country projects in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Egypt, Indonesia, Senegal, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Viet Nam.

Enabling activities to review and update the Stockholm Convention National Implementation Plans (NIPs) were approved for Bolivia and Sri Lanka. Both projects will be implemented by the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). UNIDO will also implement a project to reduce POPs from municipal and hazardous wastes in Senegal, as well as polycyclic biphenyl (PCB) disposal projects in Bangladesh and Serbia.

In Indonesia, UN Development Programme (UNDP) will implement a project on reducing releases of c-pentabromodiphenyl ether (PBDEs) and unintentionally produced POPs (uPOPs), originating from unsound waste management practices and the manufacture and recycling of plastics. UNDP will also implement: a project on eliminating uPOPs releases from healthcare and electronic wastes in Egypt; a legacy POPs elimination project in Turkey; and a sound harmful chemicals management project in Viet Nam.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) will implement Asian regional projects including a subregional PBDE management plan, and implementation of a POPs monitoring plan. [Indonesia Project] [Sri Lanka Project] [Bolivia Project] [Europe and Central Asia Project] [Turkey Project] [Egypt Project] [Senegal Project] [Asia Monitoring Project] [Asia PBDEs Project] [Serbia Project] [Bangladesh Project] [Viet Nam Project]