Schedule and registration

Date and Time (Geneva time: UTC/GMT+1 hour)	Please register a few days in advance of the webinar. To register, please use the following link:
Tuesday, 1 April 10 am	Register
Thursday, 3 April at 4 pm	Register

Objectives

Increasing Parties’ knowledge on existing guidance to update NIPs, Parties’ understanding of HBCD and other POP-PBDEs listed, and Parties’ capacity to make inventories of POP-PBDEs, as part of the NIP update.

Contents

1. Introduction – 5 min
2. Presentations
   
   • Understanding HBCD and POPs-PBDEs– 10 min.
                (by Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions)
   • Establishing inventory of HBCD and POPs-PBDEs - 10 min.
                (by Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions)
3. Questions and answers

Target group

Stockholm Convention Official Contact Points, Basel Convention Competent Authorities, Rotteredam Convention DNAs and National Focal Points, national experts involved in the review and update of the NIPs at the national level, especially in the undertaking of the new POPs inventories, Basel Convention Small Intersessional Working Group on new POPs waste, POPRC members and observers, CRC members and observers.

Background

In May 2009, certain brominated flame retardants were listed to Annex A:

• Hexabromobiphenyl (HBB)
• Two polybrominated diphenyl ethers (collectively referred to as POP-PBDEs in this document):
  
  • Hexabromodiphenyl ether and heptabromodiphenyl ether
  • Tetrabromodiphenyl ether and pentabromodiphenyl ether

In May 2013, Hexabromocyclododecane was listed in Annex A of the Convention.

Parties have the obligation to update their NIP and to transmit it to the COP within two years of the date on which the amendment entered into force for them. In the cases of the 2009 and 2011 amendments, most Parties had to submit their NIPs by 26 August 2012 and by October 2014 respectively. In the case of HBCD Parties are expected to include it in their NIPs and submit it by 14 November 2016. Parties are also required to register for exemptions therefore when updating their NIPs, Parties are encouraged to take into account Endosulfan and HBCD and consider their continued need for exemptions.

Due to the complexity and magnitude of usage of the POP-PBDEs, eliminating them represents a challenge for many Parties. These chemicals have been widely used in many industrial sectors for the manufacture of a variety of products and articles, including consumer articles. For example, POP-PBDEs have been used in the electronics industry for the manufacture of plastic casings for computer equipment and in the transport industry for the manufacture of foam cushioning in automobiles.

To develop effective strategies that can lead to the elimination of the newly listed BFRs, Parties need to acquire a sound understanding of their national situation concerning these chemicals. Such information can be obtained through inventories. The establishment of inventories is thus one of the main phases in the development of NIPs and is recommended as part of the elaborated process for reviewing and updating of NIPs, endorsed by the COP, decision SC-2/7.

Schedule and registration

Date and Time (Geneva time: UTC/GMT+1 hour)	Please register a few days in advance of the webinar. To register, please use the following link:
Tuesday 25 March at 10 am	Register
Thursday 27 March at 4 pm	Register

Objectives

The objective of this webinar is to assist Parties to the Stockholm Convention in the submission of their national reports using the improved electronic reporting system.

Content

1. Introduction - 5 min.
2. Presentation by the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions:
   
   • The new online electronic reporting system of the Stockholm Convention - 20 min.
3. Discussion - 35 min

Background

Come and learn how to submit national reports for the Stockholm Convention online. The Secretariat updated the electronic reporting system of the Stockholm Convention to include the newly listed POPs and improved the electronic reporting system in order to facilitate a more proper and convenient online reporting. The Secretariat will provide support to each Party through a series of webinars that will present the new features of the electronic reporting system. During the webinars, an expert will demonstrate how the tool functions and will answer the questions of the participants.
Each Party to the Stockholm Convention is required to send its national report pursuant to Article 15 of the Convention, which, in accordance with decision SC-5/16 is to be submitted to the Secretariat by 31 August 2014 for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its seventh meeting. In addition, the national reports will be considered as one element in undertaking an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Convention pursuant to Article 16 as well as the evaluation of progress towards the elimination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB).
The new electronic reporting system will be launched by the Secretariat in mid-March 2014 and this series of webinars will present it to the Parties for the first time.

Target group

Stockholm Convention points of contact and national focal points, Stockholm Convention regional centres, and interested stakeholders.

Schedule and registration

Date and Time (Geneva time: UTC/GMT+1 hour)	Please register a few days in advance of the webinar. To register, please use the following link:
Tuesday, 4 March at 11 am, (English)	Recording
Tuesday, 4 March at 4 pm, (Spanish)	Recording
Thursday, 13 March at 4 pm, (English)	Register

Background

At its fourth, fifth and sixth meeting, the Conference of the Parties agreed to amend the Stockholm Convention to list 11 new POPs in Annex A, B and C of the Convention.  Following the adoption of amendments, Parties have the obligation to update their NIP and to transmit it to the COP within two years of the date on which the amendments entered into force for them. When updating their NIPs, Parties are also encouraged to take into the chemicals that POPRC is evaluating and in particular those for which the COP will need to take a decision.

The main difficulty indicated by Parties is how to obtain information on the new POPs especially concerning groups of widely used industrial chemicals such as brominated flame retardants and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and its related chemicals, due to the complexity of the use and the many sectors of society involved in the use of these chemicals.

Several documents were developed to provide guidance to countries and assist them in the process of developing and implementing a NIP for the initial 12 POPs.  The revision and update of the NIPs include among other issues, compilation of inventories concerning the new POPs, action plans development, sampling and monitoring, disposal technologies, BAT and BEP related to the whole lifecycle of these substances.

A full set of consolidated guidance has been developed and subject to comments by parties and others. The documents are available in all six official languages of the United Nations.  

Objectives

·       Provide an overview of parties’ obligations when a new POP is listed.
Share and exchange of information on the available guidance to develop and update NIPs.
Provide information on training and capacity building activities.

Contents

1. Introduction – 5 min
2. Presentations
   
   • NIPs: A roadmap to implement the Convention  – 5 min
          Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions
   • NIP guidance - 15 min
          Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions
3. Questions and answers  - 35 min 

Target group

Official Contact Points, National Focal Points and national experts involved in the review and update of the NIPs at the national level, especially in the undertaking of the new POPs inventories. 

From the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions

The National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC), Regional Center of the Stockholm Convention for Latin America and the Caribbean, has successfully held the first Workshop on Technical Assistance and Capacity Building for the Implementation and Compliance of the Stockholm Convention in Mexico City from 2 to 4 December 2013.

The workshop was attended by government representatives from eight countries: Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru, as well as national experts in the field.