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International - Stockholm Convention |
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Stockholm Convention
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1. How did we get to have the Stockholm Convention? Negotiation process
The toxic effects which some of these pollutants have on the environment, including human health, added to the already-mentioned properties of high persistence and global distribution have driven the international community to seek an urgent response in order to reduce and eliminate their release into the environment. This process of international response began in March 1995, when the UNEP Governing Council adopted decision 18/32 inviting the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC), and the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemicals Safety (IFCS) to begin the evaluation process of a list of 12 POPs. In response, the IFCS called for a Special Task Force on POPs which developed a plan to evaluate the information available on chemical composition, sources, toxicity, environmental transport and the socioeconomic impact of those 12 POPs.
In June 1996, the Special Task Force called for a meeting of experts and concluded that there was enough information to prove the need for international action that sought to minimize the risks of those 12 POPs and the pressing need for an internationally legally binding instrument. Later, in February 1997, the UNEP Governing Council adopted decision 19/13, endorsing the conclusions and recommendations of the IFCS. It also requested that the UNEP, together with other relevant international organizations, meet at an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) with the mandate to develop, by the end of 2000, an internationally legally binding instrument, beginning with the list of 12 POPs.
Negotiations for the Convention began in June 1998 in Montreal, Canada and ended in December, 2000 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Conference of Plenipotentiaries was called for May 22 and 23, 2001, in Stockholm, Sweden.
The Stockholm Convention is an internationally legally binding instrument for the application of measures to prevent health and environment hazards caused by POPs. It entered into force on May 17, 2004. At the time of the publication of this document, 151 governments signed the Convention and 124 countries are Parties of it.
The Convention initially agreed to work on a set of 12 priority products, all of them organochlorinated compounds, 9 of which are pesticides, 2 refer to unintentional emissions and one is a product used in industry.
2. An introduction to Stockholm Convention
The Stockholm Convention is a global agreement developed under the auspices of UNEP. The objective of the Convention is to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants (POPs). It starts by immediately targeting 12 particularly toxic POPs for reduction and eventual elimination.
The Convention:
- sets out obligations for countries covering the production, use, import, export, release and disposal of POPs;
- requires countries to promote, and in some cases require, the use of the best available techniques (BAT) and best environmental practices (BEP) to reduce and/or eliminate emissions of UPOPs from certain combustion and chemical processes; and
- includes provisions aimed at preventing the introduction of new POPs and for adding other POPs to the Convention in the future.
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POPs are chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically, accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms and are toxic to humans and wildlife. POPs circulate globally and can cause damage wherever they travel.
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The Stockholm Convention requires countries to ban the production of POPs pesticides and industrial chemicals and reduce, and wherever feasible, eliminate release of unintentional chemical by-products.
The convention was signed in May 23rd, 2001 in Stockholm. It was valid after it was signed and ratified by the 50th state. The Convention entered into force, thus becoming international law, on 17 May 2004. As of March 2007, there are 152 signatories.
The official site of the Stockholm Convention is http://www.pops.int
Objectives
The objective of the Convention is to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
The central aspects of the Stockholm Convention lie within the following areas:
- Eliminate or restrict the production, use, import and export of POPs derived from intentional production and use.
- Reduce releases from unintentional POP production.
- Promote the use of the best available technologies and sound environmental practices in order to reduce POP emissions.
- Eliminate, in an environmentally sound manner, stockpiles of POPs that are obsolete, deteriorated, past their due date or forbidden, as well as their waste.
It is worth noting the framework in which specific aspects are developed, highlighting the following:
- The need to take measures on POPs that have a global scope.
- Support among the different international agreements on trade and environment, and particularly the synergy between international Conventions of the chemicals bloc (Basel – Rotterdam – Stockholm).
- Caution and prevention being the basic principles of policies developed
- The need to cooperate with developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
- The need to take measures to prevent adverse effects caused by POPs at all stages of their life cycle.
- That POP manufacturers take responsibility for reducing the harmful effects of these products.
- Encouraging Parties not having regulatory and assessment schemes for pesticides and industrial chemicals to develop such schemes.
Compounds/Chemicals included in the Stockholm Convention
- Pesticides: aldrin, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, chlordane, mirex and toxaphene.
- Industrial compounds: hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
- Unintentional by-products: as the result of human activity. The latter category includes dioxins, furans, dioxin-like PCBs, and hexachlorobenzene that are generated primarily as by-products of incomplete combustion. The latter two, in addition to having been synthesized, are unintentionally produced through the same processes as dioxins and furans. These include thermal processes involving organic matter and chlorine, controlled and uncontrolled combustion processes and some chemical reactions.
3. Structure of the Convention
The Convention is structured in 30 Articles. The Convention's control provisions are contained in four key articles.
- Article 3: addresses POPs intentionally produced and used.
- Article 5: addresses those POPs produced unintentionally.
- Article 6: pertains to stockpiles and wastes of the 12 POPs.
In addition,
- Article 4: addresses restrictions and specific exemptions noted on a chemical specific basis in the relevant annexes.
The Convention is detailed and completed in five annexes (A to F) which regulate elimination, restriction and unintentional production.
- Annex A: aldrin, chlordane, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, HCB, mirex, toxaphene and PCBs.
- Annex B: DDT.
- Annex C: dioxins, furans, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), and hexachlorobenzene.
Summary of obligations:
The main obligations arising from the Convention:
- Production and intentional use
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Production and intentional use
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Each Party shall:
Ban and/or take the legal and administrative measures necessary to eliminate the production, use, import and export of the chemicals included in Annex A. (aldrin, chlordane, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, HCB, mirex, toxaphene and PCBs) It shall restrict production and use of the chemicals included in Annex B (DDT at present).
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Each Party shall take measures to ensure that:
A chemical included in Annexes A or B is imported only for the purpose of environmentally sound disposal or for a purpose or use allowed for that Party.
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A Chemical included in Annex A, for which any specific exemption for production or use is in effect, or a chemical included in the Annex B list, for which a specific exemption for production or use for an acceptable purpose is in effect, taking into account the provisions in existing international prior informed consent instruments, is exported only:
- For the purpose of environmentally sound disposal.
- To a Party which is permitted to use that chemical.
- To a State not Party to this Convention, which has provided an annual certification to the exporting Party.
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Each Party that has one or more regulatory and assessment schemes for new pesticides or new industrial chemicals shall take measures to regulate, with the aim of preventing the production and use of new pesticides or new industrial chemicals which exhibit the characteristics of persistent organic pollutants.
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Any Party that has a specific exemption in accordance with Annex A, or an acceptable purpose in accordance with Annex B shall take the appropriate measures to ensure that any production or use under such exemption or purpose is carried out in a manner that prevents or minimizes human exposure and release into the environment. For exempted uses or acceptable purposes that involve intentional release into the environment under conditions of normal use, such release shall be to the minimum extent necessary, taking into account the applicable standards and guidelines.
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Specifically for Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)
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Each Party shall:
With regard to the elimination of the use of polychlorinated biphenyls in equipment (e.g. transformers, capacitors or other receptacles containing liquid stocks) adopt, by 2025 at the latest, measures in accordance to the following priorities:
- Make determined efforts to identify, label and remove from use all equipment containing more than 10 % polychlorinated biphenyls and volumes greater than 5 litres;
- Make determined efforts to identify, label and remove from use all equipment containing greater than 0.05% polychlorinated biphenyls and volumes greater than 5 litres;
- Endeavour to identify and remove from use all equipment containing greater than 0,005% polychlorinated biphenyls and volumes greater than 0,05 litres;
Promote the following measures to reduce exposure and risk in order to control the use of polychlorinated biphenyls;
- Use only in intact and non-leaking equipment and only in areas where the risk from environmental release can be minimised and the area may be quickly decontaminated;
- Not use in equipment in areas where food or feed is produced or processed for humans or animals;
- When used in densely populated areas, including schools and hospitals, take all reasonable measures to protect from electrical power cuts which could result in a fire and perform regular inspections of such equipment to detect any leak;
Ensure that the equipment containing polychlorinated biphenyls described in subparagraph a) shall not be exported or imported except for the purpose of environmentally sound waste management;
Except for maintenance and repair operations, not allow recovery for the purpose of reuse in other equipment, of liquids with polychlorinated biphenyls content above 0,005%.
Make determined efforts to achieve the environmentally sound disposal management of liquids containing polychlorinated biphenyls and of equipment contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls with a content of polychlorinated biphenyls above 0,005%.
Endeavour to identify other articles containing more than 0,005% polychlorinated biphenyls (e.g. cable-sheaths, cured caulk and painted objects) and manage them according to provisions. |
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Unintentional Production
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Each Party shall at least take the following measures to reduce the total emissions derived from anthropogenic sources of each of the chemicals listed in Annex C (dioxins, furans, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), and hexachlorobenzene), with the goal of their continuing minimization and, where feasible, ultimate elimination:
Develop, within two years of the date of entry into force of this Convention for such Party, and subsequently implement, an action plan designed to identify, characterize and address the release of the chemicals included in Annex C. The action plan shall include the following elements:
- An evaluation of current and projected releases, including the preparation and maintenance of source inventories and release estimates.
- An evaluation of the efficacy of the laws and policies of the Party relating to the management of such releases;
- Strategies to meet the obligations of this paragraph, taking into account the evaluations mentioned in subparagraphs i) and ii);
- Steps to promote education and training, and awareness of those strategies;
- A review every five years of the strategies and of their success in meeting the obligations required.
- A schedule for the implementation of the action plan, including the strategies and measures identified in such plan.
Promote the application of available, feasible and practical measures that can expeditiously achieve a realistic and meaningful level of release reduction or source elimination;
Promote the development, and when it is deemed appropriate, require the use, of substitute or modified materials, products and processes to prevent the formation and release of the chemicals listed in Annex C.
Promote, and in accordance with the implementation schedule of its action plan, require the use of best available techniques for new sources, within the source categories which a Party has identified as warranting such action.
In any case, the requirement to use best available techniques for new sources in the priority categories shall be phased in gradually as soon as practicable, but no later than four years after the entry into force of the Convention for that Party. For the identified categories. Parties shall promote the use of best environmental practices.
Promote, in accordance with its action plan, the use of best available techniques and best environmental practices:
- For existing sources, within the source categories included in Part II of Annex C and within the source categories such as those included in Part III of that Annex; and
- For new sources, within the source categories such as those listed in Part II of Annex C which a Party has not addressed under subparagraph d).
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Releases from stockpiles and wastes
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In order to ensure that stockpiles consisting of chemicals included in Annex A or Annex B, or containing such chemicals, as well as wastes, including products and articles upon becoming wastes, consisting of a chemical included in Annex A, B or C or containing such a chemical or which are contaminated with it, are managed in a manner protective of human health and the environment, each Party shall:
Develop appropriate strategies for identifying:
- Stockpiles, consisting of or containing chemicals listed either in Annex A or Annex B, and
- Products and articles in use and wastes consisting of, containing or contaminated with a chemical listed in Annex A, B or C.
Determining, to the extent practicable, stockpiles consisting of or containing chemicals listed in either Annex A or Annex B, on the basis of the strategies referred to in subparagraph a);
Manage stockpiles, as appropriate, in a safe, efficient and environmentally sound manner. Stockpiles of chemicals included in Annex A or Annex B, after they are no longer allowed to be used according to any specific exemption specified in Annex A or any specific exemption or acceptable purpose specified in Annex B, except stockpiles which are allowed to be exported according to paragraph 2 of Article 3, shall be deemed to be waste and shall be managed in accordance with subparagraph d);
Take appropriate measures so that such wastes, including products and articles upon becoming wastes, are:
- Handled, collected, transported and stored in an environmentally sound manner;
- Disposed of in such a way that the persistent organic pollutant content is destroyed or irreversibly transformed so that it does not exhibit the characteristics of persistent organic pollutants. Or that it is otherwise disposed of in an environmentally sound manner when destruction or irreversible transformation does not represent the environmentally preferable option or the persistent organic pollutant content is low, taking into account international rules, standards and guidelines, including those that may be developed pursuant to paragraph 2, and relevant global and regional regimes governing the management of hazardous wastes;
- Not permitted to be subject of disposal operations that may lead to recovery, recycling, reclamation, direct reuse or alternative uses of persistent organic pollutants; and
- Not transported across international boundaries without taking into account relevant international rules, standards and guidelines;
Endeavour to develop appropriate strategies for identifying sites contaminated by chemicals listed in Annex A, B or C; if remediation of those sites is undertaken it shall be performed in an environmentally sound manner. |
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Key message:
In court, a person is innocent until proven guilty. Chemicals suspected of bio-accumulating, persisting in the environment, and harming human beings and animals do not deserve that kind of protection.
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Although Stockholm Convention has determined an initial list of twelve compounds or groups of compounds, criteria are established for the inclusion of new POPs to the initial list.
Any Party can submit a proposal to the Secretariat to list a chemical in Annex A (Elimination), Annex B (Restriction) or Annex C (Unintentional Production) however, the proposal needs to contain the information specified in Annex D (Screening Criteria).
In order to do this, a subsidiary organ exists, the POP Review Committee, for the purpose of analysing new additions to the original list. If the proposal is supported, then a draft risk profile is prepared in accordance with Annex E (Risk Profile) for the COP. To this date, the following products have been proposed to include the list:
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These proposals have been evaluated according to Article 8 of the Convention and have gone through the first stage fulfilling the selection criteria specified in Annex D “Information Requirements and Selection Criteria”. Their risk profile was written and they will continue to be evaluated at the Committee’s second meeting.
6. Which are the Signatories Parties to the Stockholm Convention?
If you want to read the list of signatories countries, the state ratification click here.
7. What is the meeting agenda?
Here it is listed information concerning the Conference of Parties, in order to have access to the meetings of Subsidiary bodies and expert groups, please consult the official POPs Convention website at: http://www.pops.int/documents/meetings/
Conference of the Parties (COP)
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Third Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Stockholm Convention, Dakar,
Senegal, 30 April - 4 May 2007.
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Second Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Stockholm Convention,
Geneva, 1-5 May 2006,
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First Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Stockholm Convention.
If you want some hints about negotiation at International Level, you can have a look at International Meetings in the section What can I do?.
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8. National implementation plans
As a management tool, the Stockholm Convention foresees that to implement its obligations, each Party shall develop a Plan, which it will transmit to the Conference of the Parties within two years of the entry into force of the Convention for such Party (in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 7 of the Stockholm Convention).
This Plan will be reviewed and updated, as appropriate, on a periodic basis and in a manner to be specified by a decision of the Conference of the Parties.
The NIP will provide a framework for a country to develop and implement, in a systematic and participatory way, priority policy and regulatory reform, capacity building and investment programmes.
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Article 7 – Paragraph 2 Stockholm Convention on POPs
The Parties shall, where appropriate, cooperate directly or through global, regional and subregional organizations, and consult their national stakeholders, including women’s groups and groups involved in the health of children, in order to facilitate the development, implementation and updating of their implementation plans.
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If you want to read more about the National Implementation plans, you can have a look in National Plans, or you can go directly to the official website here.
9. Contacts
Secretariat for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
11-13 Chemin des Anémones
1219 Châtelaine
Geneva, Switzerland
Tel.: +4122 917 8191
Fax: +4122 797 3460
e-mail:
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Website: http://www.pops.int |
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