THE «BRS» CONVENTIONS

Transcription

1 THE «BRS» CONVENTIONS Juliette Voinov Kohler, legal officer Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions October /8/2015 1

2 THE BRS CONVENTIONS The Basel Convention on the Control of Tranbounsary Movements of hazardous wastes and their Disposal Parties The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade Parties The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants Parties (NB:«opt in» Parties) 10/8/2015 2

3 THE BRS CONVENTIONS A framework for Life Cycle Management of hazardous chemicals and wastes: =>The 3 Conventions together cover elements of cradle-to-grave approach. Common objectives: to protect human health and the environment against dangerous chemicals and wastes. Interlocking scopes of application: => Common thread: most POPs are covered by all 3 Conventions. => Many pesticides are subject to the 3 Conventions. => As wastes, all chemicals will fall under the scope of the Basel Convention. 10/8/2015 3

4 SCOPE AND COVERAGE Basel covers hazardous wastes that are explosive, flammable, reactive, poisonous, infectious, corrosive, toxic or ecotoxic. Basel also covers other wastes Rotterdam covers pesticides and industrial chemicals that have been banned or severely restricted for health or environmental reasons by Parties and those which have been included in the scope of the Convention. Stockholm covers persistent organic pollutants. 10/8/2015 4

5 THE BASEL CONVENTION Three pillars: Minimize the generation of hazardous wastes in terms of quantity and degree of hazard; Control transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and other wastes (conditions and the PIC procedure); Promote the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes and other wastes 10/8/2015 5

6 WASTES COVERED Wastes are substances or objects that are disposed of, intended to be disposed of, or required to be disposed of by national law Article 2.1. Disposal operations set out in Annex IV. Hazardous wastes Annex I (waste streams, waste constituents) and Annex III (hazardous characteristics), as further elaborated in Annexes VIII and IX Defined nationally Other wastes Annex II 10/8/2015 6

7 MINIMISATION «Each Party shall ensure that the generation of hazardous and other wastes within it is reduced to a minimum, taking into account social and technological and economic aspects» Article 4.2 COP-10: Cartagena Declaration on the Prevention, Minimization and Recovery of Hazardous Wastes and Other Wastes 10/8/2015 7

8 CONTROLLING TRANSBOUNDARY MOVEMENTS Conditions: eg: transboundary movement only among Parties (exception - Article 11 Agreements); PIC=Prior Informed Consent procedure Four stages to ensure that only Parties with the will and the capacity to manage hazardous or other wastes in an environmentally sound manner receive them 1: notification of proposed shipment; 2: written consent to proposed shipment: 3:issuance of movement document; 4: confirmation of ESM disposal. Right to restrict or ban imports, transits or exports Illegal traffic: defined by the Convention - consequences provided 10/8/2015 8

9 ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND MANAGEMENT «ESM means taking all practicable steps to ensure that hazardous and other wastes are managed in a manner which will protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects which may result from such wastes» Article 2.8 Adoption of technical guidelines specific to waste streams or to disposal operations s/tabid/2362/default.aspx 10/8/2015 9

10 THE ROTTERDAM CONVENTION Objectives (Article 1): To promote shared responsibility and cooperative efforts among Parties in the international trade of certain hazardous chemicals in order to To protect human health and the environment from potential harm and To contribute to their environmentally sound use. Scope: Chemicals - defined under Article 2 - falling into 2 categories: pesticides & industrial chemicals. Listed in Annex III, or Banned or severely restricted by a Party 10/8/

11 PIC PROCEDURE For chemicals listed in Annex III DGD distributedd to all Parties Triggers obligation to provide response with respect to the future import of the chemical All Parties to ensure that response is complied with by entities within national jurisdiction 10/8/

12 EXPORT NOTIFICATION For non-annex III chemicals that have been banned or severely restricted by a Party Obligation for the State of export to provide an export notification to the importing Party the first time the chemical is exported. 10/8/

13 Objective (Article 1): THE STOCKHOLM CONVENTION Mindful of the precautionary approach, to protect human health and the environment from the harmful impacts of POPs What are POPs? Chemicals that are persistent, bio-accumulate in fatty tissues and bio-magnify through the food chain, i.e. with the following properties high toxicity persistence mobility high concentration (bio-accumulate) Principles (preamble): precaution, Rio 2, polluter pays, CBDR(limited / capabilities) 10/8/

14 SCOPE Scope: substances listed in 3 Annexes Annex A: objective= elimination (19 +) Annex B: objective= restriction/limitation (2+) Annex C: unintentional production (5) 10/8/

15 OBLIGATIONS 1) Intentional releases from production and use (Article 3, Annexes A and B) Elimination of the production and use of substances listed in Annex A (possibility of specific production /use exemptions for up to 5 Y) Limitation of the production and use of the substances listed in Annex B (possibility of specific exemptions or acceptable purposes) Trade control of the substances listed in Annexes A and B import: OK if for ESM (=> BC) or if for permitted use export: OK if permitted use or for ESM (special rule if export to a non-party) 2) Unintentional releases (Article 5, Annex C) Parties to adopt specific measures to reduce unintentional releases, including a National Action Plan, the promotion of best available technologies BAT and best environmental practices BEP. 3) Stockpiles and wastes (Article 6) Parties to manage stockpiles and wastes containing listed chemicals in a manner protective of human health and the environment 10/8/

16 BRS INSTITUTIONAL FEATURES Governing bodies (COPs): similar roles, including keeping under continuous review and evaluation the effective implementation of the Convention. Technical and scientific bodies: SC: POPs Review Committee (POPRC); RC: Chemical Review Committee (CRC); BC: Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG). Compliance BC: Implementation and Compliance Committee (ICC) since 2002; RC and SC: under negotiation (article 7) Secretariats: UNEP (joint head) for BRS FAO for RC Similar roles 10/8/

17 THE 2015 COPS: 4-15 MAY 2015 BC COP-12, RC COP-7 and SC COP-7 held back-to-back during two weeks with joint sessions on cross-cutting issues; Theme of the meeting: From science to action, working for a safer tomorrow ; Around 1,200 participants (169 country parties, 13 UN organizations, 5 IGOs, 15 regional centres, 84 NGOs, 19 industry associations); Science Fair: highlighted scientific basis of the BRS conventions, with dozens of events involving various partners; Total of 72 decisions adopted. 10/8/

18 JOINT ISSUES POPs wastes (B, S); Technical assistance, including regional centres (BRS); Financial resources, including integrated approach (BRS); Compliance (R, S); International cooperation (BRS); Programmes of work and budgets, including review of synergies arrangements (BRS); Venue/date next meetings (BRS); Other matters (MOU, admission of observers) (BRS). 10/8/

19 MAIN OUTCOMES ON JOINT ISSUES: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE BRS decisions on technical assistance: Welcomed technical assistance programme and requested Secretariat to implement it; Invited parties to provide information on needs or availability of technical assistance and technology transfer. BC and SC decisions on regional centres: Noted that the centres had been evaluated and that their performance had been noted; SC COP endorsed all SC centres for another period of 4 years; Requested Secretariat to prepare an evaluation report of centres, and to consider possible adjustments on the evaluation methodology; Invited centres undertaking mercury-related activities under the conventions to provide information about it. 10/8/

20 MAIN OUTCOMES ON JOINT ISSUES: FINANCIAL RESOURCES BRS decisions on implementation of the integrated approach to financing: Joined UNEA in welcoming an integrated approach to the financing of chemicals and wastes, emphasizing the importance of implementing its three components: mainstreaming, industry involvement, and dedicated external finance; requests the Secretariat to assist parties in that respect, subject to the availability of resources, and recognizes the importance of the joint programme of work to that end; Welcomed UNEA resolution that established the special programme and looked forward to early start of its operations; Welcomed that according to the terms of reference of the special programme the Executive Secretary may participate as an observer in the meetings of the executive board of the special programme, requested him to attend such meetings and requests the Secretariat to cooperate, as appropriate, with the secretariat of the special programme. 10/8/

21 MAIN OUTCOMES ON JOINT ISSUES: FINANCIAL RESOURCES SC decisions on the financial mechanism: Adopted TOR for the assessment of funding needed by countries to implement the Convention in , to be done at SC COP-8; Adopted TOR for fourth review, to be done at SC COP-8; Took note of report on implementation, welcomed GEF activity report, requested new reports to be developed for next COP; Welcomed GEF chemicals and wastes focal area and strategy, encouraged GEF to continue to enhance synergies in its activities, requested the Secretariat to identify possible elements of guidance from SC to the GEF that also address relevant priorities of BC and RC. 10/8/

22 MAIN OUTCOMES ON JOINT ISSUES: PROGRAMMES OF WORK AND BUDGETS BRS decisions on budget: Approved the budget of each convention for biennium at zero nominal growth; Invited ED to provide information on implications of establishing a single account for staff costs and a single joint general trust fund to bureaux and make proposals on changes to financial rules for consider by next COPs; Decided new measures to be applied to parties that are in arrears for 4 or more years. BRS decisions on enhancing cooperation among conventions: Adopted TOR for the review of synergies arrangements to be carried out by an independent assessor; Requested Secretariat to submit the report on the review and to make proposals in response to this review for consideration by the 2017 COPs. 10/8/

23 MAIN OUTCOMES ON JOINT ISSUES: POPs WASTES (BC, SC) BC decision: Adopted 7 technical guidelines on POPs wastes; Decided to undertake a review of provisional low POP content values set out in the guidelines before BC COP-13; Decided to update technical guidelines for the 3 newly listed POPs. SC decision: Welcomed BC decision adopting 7 technical guidelines on POPs wastes; Invited Basel Convention to update technical guidelines for the 3 newly listed POPs. SC experts invited to participate in updating technical guidelines on POPs wastes. 10/8/

24 MAIN OUTCOMES ON JOINT ISSUES: COMPLIANCE (RC, SC) RC decision: Decided to consider further at COP-8 the procedures and mechanisms on compliance, using as a basis the draft text in the annex to the decision; Invited RC Bureau to facilitate intersessional consultations among all parties to promote a policy dialogue on outstanding issues. SC decision: Noted that the negotiations had not yielded a result that the draft texts contained in the annex to decision are entirely bracketed; Decided to consider further at COP-8 the procedures and mechanisms on compliance, using as a basis the draft texts contained in the annex to the decision; Invited SC Bureau to facilitate intersessional consultations among all parties to promote a policy dialogue on outstanding issues. 10/8/

25 MAIN OUTCOMES ON JOINT ISSUES BRS decisions on international cooperation: ES requested to inform process to define post-2015 development agenda about relevance of conventions; Requested enhanced cooperation within and outside chemical cluster. BRS decisions on clearing-house mechanism: Took note of the joint CHM strategy and invited comments on strategy which is to be revised for 2017 COPs; Requested Secretariat to provide access to thematic information in priority areas. 10/8/

26 MAIN OUTCOMES ON JOINT ISSUES BRS decisions on science to action: Requested the development of a road map to further engage parties and stakeholders to enhanced science-based action in the implementation of the conventions. BRS decisions on venue and date of next meetings: back-to-back with a one-day HLS, regional preparatory meetings. BRS decisions on draft MOUs: Decided to wait for UNEP/MEAs task team to finalize its work before taking a final decision on the MOUs. 10/8/

27 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE BASEL CONVENTION COP-12 Follow-up to the country-led initiative Ban Amendment: New ratifications acknowledged; Secretariat to continue to provide assistance to parties, upon request. ESM guidelines: Adopted the work programme of the expert working group (EWG) on ESM; Requested each regional group to nominate one expert with expertise and knowledge in the field of wastes prevention and minimization; Welcomed a set of draft practical manuals and fact sheets and invited parties and other to submit comments on them; Requested the EWG to revise the set of draft practical manuals and fact sheets and submit them to OEWG-10 and COP /8/

28 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE BASEL CONVENTION COP-12 Follow-up to the country-led initiative Legal clarity Took note of the draft glossary of terms and related terms and decided that this shall be the basis for further work; Invited SIWG on legal clarity to continue its work, to prepare a revised version of the glossary and related terms; Invited OEWG-10 to finalize the glossary and related terms and prepare a draft decision on these matters for COP-13; Decided to initiate a process for the review of Annexes I, III and IV and related aspects of Annex IX, towards the consistent interpretation of terminology. 10/8/

29 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE BASEL CONVENTION COP-12 Technical guidelines on ESM of mercury wastes: Adopted the updated technical guidelines; Requested Secretariat to disseminate the guidelines to parties and others, including the interim secretariat of the Minamata Convention; Invited parties and others to use the guidelines and to submit comments on their experience in so doing and on any developments regarding methods for disposal of mercury wastes. 10/8/

30 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE BASEL CONVENTION COP-12 Technical guidelines on transboundary movements of electrical and electronic wastes and used electrical and electric equipment: Adopted, on an interim basis, the technical guidelines; Acknowledged the need to look further into the guidance on the distinction between waste and non-waste, and agreed to include the further elaboration of work on this issue in the work programme of the OEWG in order to prepare draft revised guidelines for consideration by COP-13; Invited parties and others to provide comments on certain issues related to the above-mentioned work. 10/8/

31 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE BASEL CONVENTION COP-12 Cartagena Declaration on the Prevention, Minimization and Recovery of Hazardous Wastes and Other Wastes: Adopted the road map for action action on the implementation of the Cartagena Declaration; Decided to mandate the expert working group on ESM to develop guidance to assist parties in developing efficient strategies for achieving prevention and minimization of generation of wastes. 10/8/

32 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE BASEL CONVENTION COP-12 National reporting: Adopted the revised format of the national reporting questionnaire; Decided to extend the mandate of the SIWG on national reporting to develop a user manual for the electronic reporting system and the revised format in the 6 official UN languages; Decided to mandate OEWG-10 to agree on a list of waste streams for which additional practical guidance on the development of inventories should be developed; based on the report prepared by the Secretariat. 10/8/

33 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE BASEL CONVENTION COP-12 Implementation and Compliance Committee: Extended the amendment to paragraph 9 (c) of the TOR of the mechanism until COP-14; Discontinued legal framework programme; Adopted the methodological guide for development of inventories; the revised guide to control system and the updated manual for the implementation of the Convention; Approved work programme of the Committee for ; Elected 10 new ICC members to serve until the close of COP /8/

34 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE BASEL CONVENTION COP-12 National legislation, notifications, enforcement of the Convention and efforts to combat illegal traffic: Encouraged parties to provide the Secretariat with texts of national legislation and other measures to implement and enforce the Convention; Invited parties to share information on best practices in preventing and combating illegal traffic and to report confirmed cases of illegal traffic; Requested Secretariat to prepare recommendations on possible synergies between BRS conventions in preventing illegal traffic and trade. 10/8/

35 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE BASEL CONVENTION COP-12 Other decisions: Work programme and operations of the OEWG; Implementation of decision V/32 on the enlargement of the scope of the Trust Fund; PACE; Creating innovative solutions for the ESM of household wastes; ENFORCE; Environmentally sound dismantling of ships; Cooperation between the Basel Convention and the IMO. 10/8/

36 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE ROTTERDAM CONVENTION COP-7 Amendment to Annex III to the Convention: Listing of methamidophos (pesticide) in Annex III; Amendment will enter into force on 15 September 2015; Approved draft decision guidance document. No consensus could be reached on listing of 4 chemicals: Fenthion (ultra-low-volume (ULV) formulations at or above 640 g active ingredient/l); Trichlorfon; Liquid formulations containing paraquat dichloride at or above 276 g/l, corresponding to paraquat ion at or above 200 g/l; Chrysotile asbestos; All four chemicals will be considered again at COP-8. 10/8/

37 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE ROTTERDAM CONVENTION COP-7 Intersessional work on the process of listing chemicals in Annex III to the Rotterdam Convention Review cases when COP was unable to reach consensus on listing; Develop options for improving effectiveness of the process; Develop proposals for enabling improved information flow that support the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for those chemicals; Invited parties to consider serving as lead country or the Secretariat to facilitate the intersessional work, underpinned by a workshop subject to availability of resources. 10/8/

38 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE ROTTERDAM CONVENTION COP-7 Chemical Review Committee Elected CRC Chair; Adopted list of 14 parties to nominate new CRC members; Welcomed guidance when a chemical under RC consideration is a POP; Welcomed handbook of working procedures and policy guidance for the Chemical Review Committee; Adopted the amendment to section B.2 (6) of the process for drafting decision guidance documents and accompanying explanatory notes. 10/8/

39 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE ROTTERDAM CONVENTION COP-7 Status of implementation of the Convention General issues: Requested Secretariat to carry out survey on the use of various definitions for term «pesticides» and prepare a document to inform parties. Activities to increase notifications of final regulatory action: Requested Secretariat to: Collect specific information that may assist parties in preparing notifications of FRA; Provide assistance to parties to increase notifications of FRAs and proposals for the listing of SHPFs; To carry out a survey on the FRAs adopted by parties. 10/8/

40 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE ROTTERDAM CONVENTION COP-7 Status of implementation of the Convention Proposal on ways of exchanging information on exports and export notifications: Requested Secretariat to: Provide assistance to parties, upon request, in implementing paragraph 2 (c) of Articles 11 and 12 of the Convention; Facilitate the exchange of information on exports and export notifications. 10/8/

41 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE STOCKHOLM CONVENTION COP-7 Amendments to the Convention: Listing of hexachlorobutadiene in Annex A, without specific exemptions; Listing of pentachlorophenol and its salts and esters to Annex A, with specific exemptions for production and use of pentachlorophenol for utility poles and cross-arms; Listing of polychlorinated naphthalenes to Annex A, with specific exemptions for production and use of those chemicals as intermediates in production of polyfluorinated naphthalenes, and to Annex C. Further work on hexachlorobutadiene: Requests POPRC to further evaluate hexachlorobutadiene on the basis of the newly available information in relation to its listing in Annex C. 10/8/

42 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE STOCKHOLM CONVENTION COP-7 Exemptions: DDT: Took note that as there are no longer any parties registered for six types of specific exemptions for PFOS, its salts and PFOS-F, no new registrations may be made with respect to them. Concluded that DDT may still be needed in some countries; Endorsed key elements of the road map for development of DDT alternatives and invited UNEP to lead its implementation; Adopted list of countries to nominate members to DDT expert group. 10/8/

43 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE STOCKHOLM CONVENTION COP-7 PCBs: Encouraged parties to intensify efforts to eliminate PCBs and meet the 2025 and 2028 goals set by the Convention; Requested Secretariat to consolidate the assessment report on efforts made by parties to eliminate PCBs and make it available to effectiveness evaluation committee and COP-8; BDEs: Adopted revised format and decided to use it for evaluation at COP-8 and every second COP thereafter; Requested Secretariat to continue to support the process in decision SC-6/3 to enable the COP to evaluate BDEs at COP-8. 10/8/

44 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE STOCKHOLM CONVENTION COP-7 PFOS, its salts and PFOSF: Concluded that parties may need to continue to produce and/or use PFOS, its salts and PFOSF for acceptable purposes as provided in Annex B; Requested Secretariat to revise the format for collecting information on alternatives; Amended the schedule of the process for the evaluation of PFOS, its salts and PFOSF and decided to undertake evaluation at COP-9; Invited parties to transmit to the Secretariat information related to the interpretation and application of Article 4, for COP-8. 10/8/

45 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE STOCKHOLM CONVENTION COP-7 Toolkit for Identification and Quantification of Releases of Dioxins, Furans and Other POPs: Requested Toolkit experts to continue their work for the ongoing review of the Toolkit; Encouraged parties to use the Toolkit. Best Available Techniques and Best Environmental Practices: Adopted workplan for the review/update of the BAT/BEP guidelines / guidance; Requested BAT/BEP experts to continue working on ongoing review of guidelines and guidance, SC COP requested Toolkit and BAT/BEP experts to develop joint TORs for synergistically considering aspects relevant to releases from unintentional production and BAT and BEP. 10/8/

46 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE STOCKHOLM CONVENTION COP-7 Implementation plans: Took note of three revised guidance documents and encouraged parties to use them when developing/updating NIPs; Requested Secretariat to develop new guidance on inventorying newly listed POPs. POPRC: Elected POPRC Chair; Adopted list of 14 parties to nominate new POPRC members; Welcomed guidance when a chemical under RC consideration is a POP and guidance on possible impact of climate change on work of POPRC. 10/8/

47 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE STOCKHOLM CONVENTION COP-7 Reporting: Took note with concern of low level of reporting; Requested Secretariat to further refine draft strategy to enhance reporting under the Convention; Requested Secretariat to update reporting format with newly listed POPs and improve electronic system. Effectiveness evaluation: Elected 10 members of the committee; Invited parties to designate experts for inclusion in the roster of experts to provide support to the committee; Requested Secretariat to collect and compile information and prepare preliminary analysis of available information. 10/8/

48 MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE STOCKHOLM CONVENTION COP-7 Global Monitoring Plan: Welcomed updated guidance on GMP and encouraged parties to use it; Requested global coordination group to develop draft global monitoring report and make it availabel to EE committee. Procedure under paragraph 2(b) of Article 3: Concluded that there is a continued need for the procedure; Decided to address the procedure again at COP-9. 10/8/

49 Thank you for your attention! 10/8/