How the Stockholm Convention’s National Implementation Plans (NIPs) might be used to simultaneously support the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions was the focus of a side event held during the second Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention.

The UN Environment Programme’s Division on Environmental Conventions and the Geneva Environment Network organized a side event on 4 May 2006. The event was chaired by Franz Perrez of Switzerland, who explained that the three chemicals conventions on PIC, POPs and hazardous wastes face many similar challenges and obstacles as they pursue their individual, but related, mandates. Panelist Jérôme Karimumuryango of Burundi described his country’s efforts to integrate the three conventions at the national level. He emphasized that limited human and financial resources made the exploitation of synergies at the national level a virtual necessity. A second speaker, Tarek Eid Mohamed of Egypt presented the country’s integrated database for the national data on the three MEA’s. He described the institutional challenges of ensuring collaboration and information flow amongst the three convention teams and stated that synergies is not a one-time event but an ongoing process. Craig Boljkovac of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), discussed the approach that the organization has pursued in supporting a wide range of countries in their efforts to develop NIPs. He also offered some lessons learned about the institutional challenges of building collaborative processes and teams and suggested how these challenges could be met (IISD sources).
Basel Convention Secretariat Hosts Side Event on Regional Centres
Meanwhile, the Secretariat of the Basel Convention also held a side-event, on the implementation of projects related to POPs wastes through the Basel Convention Regional Centres. This event, which also took place on 4 May, including presentations on: POPs wastes related projects and capacity building activities coordinated through the BCRCs; projects related to POPs wastes implemented through the BCCC-Uruguay; demonstration of a regional approach to environmentally sound management of PCB liquid wastes and transformers and capacitors containing PCBs; and preparation of national inventories and national plans for the environmentally sound management of equipment containing PCBs and PBCs in Central America.
Link to further information
The presentations