Regional meetings on the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) have recently convened in Spain and Latvia.

The SAICM Secretariat, in collaboration with the Spanish Ministry of Environment, organized the first EU-JUSSCANNZ meeting on SAICM in Barcelona, Spain, from 20-22 November 2006. The meeting was attended by over 100 participants, who agreed on future coordination arrangements, including informal consultations, and welcomed the early establishment of the SAICM Quick Start Programme Trust Fund and the holding of regional SAICM meetings. Participants also recognized the need for increased funding commitments to SAICM. The EU-JUSSCANNZ countries also considered the Secretariat’s proposal for a business plan for the Quick Start Programme and a possible scientific conference. A number of other issues were left to be discussed at subsequent meetings, such as the reporting procedure for SAICM implementation, criteria and level of participation in the SAICM open ended legal and technical working group, and the SAICM Global Plan of Action.
The SAICM Secretariat, in collaboration with the Latvian Ministry of Environment, organized a Central and Eastern European (CEE) regional meeting on SAICM in Riga from 4-6 December 2006. Key outcomes of the meeting included the establishment of a ‘bridging group’ for regional coordination, development of terms of reference for the SAICM regional focal point and regional representatives on the Quick Start Programme (QSP) Executive Board, a regional position on financial considerations for SAICM, and support for the development of a QSP business plan. The meeting was funded by the Governments of Austria, Denmark, Latvia, Sweden and Switzerland.
Links to further information
EU-JUSSCANNZ regional meeting website
CEE regional meeting website