The Stockholm Convention Regional Centre in Brazil (SCRC Brazil) is hosted by the Environmental Company of São Paulo State (Companhia Ambiental do Estado de São Paulo, or CETESB). Since its establishment in 1973, CETESB has been undertaking the task of controlling, regulating, supervising and monitoring of environmental pollution and is supported by about 2,000 highly-trained employees. It was nominated by the Parties to the Stockholm Convention located in the Latin America and Caribbean Region to serve as a Stockholm Convention Regional Centre in 2007. At its fourth meeting held in 2009, the Conference of the Parties of the Stockholm Convention endorsed it to become a Stockholm Convention Regional Centre for Capacity-building and Transfer of Technology for a period of 4 years. This was again re-endorsed for another term of 4 years by the seventh meeting of the Conference held in 2015.
During these years, the Centre has been able to serve the parties by providing trainings to build capacity to implement the obligations under the Convention and it has been recognized through the performance evaluation as one of the best regional centres. The Centre has been receiving requests for support in various areas including for the development and implementation of the National Implementation Plan of the region’s countries and several other projects that promote synergies between the chemicals and wastes conventions. The centre has reflected these requests in its periodic work plans which have five major programmes:
- Technical Training and Technology Transfer;
- Environmental Monitoring and Enforcement;
- Pilot Projects;
- Laboratory Analytical Capacity;
- Agreements and Partnerships
The SCRC Brazil constantly strives to strengthen its team, providing resources and developing knowledge and skills, in order to maintain its excellent performance and keeps monitoring closely its work plan in order to ensure that the target and goals thus set are achieved.
Capacity Building and Technology Transfer - a key to support the implementation of the Stockholm Convention
CETESB, as a technological company, offers a range of specialized practical training courses for various sectors of the society. Through these trainings the Centre disseminates knowledge on concepts, tools, techniques, and procedures aimed at protecting environment through diagnosis, management, quality control, licensing and legislation. The Company carries out annually approximately one hundred and fifty training programs with the participation of four to five thousand professionals.
CETESB has accumulated over forty years of experience in organizing courses for internal and external, national and international participants, through the support of its post-graduate faculties with their recognized expertise. In June 2013, the Centre launched the “CETESB SUPERIOR SCHOOL”, with the objective to provide capacity building and transfer of knowledge aiming at strengthening the professionals from public and private sectors.
Since 2012, SCRC Brazil has been conducting annually a Training Program on Chemicals Management with the emphasis on POPs. This is a complete environmental management course that focuses on the POPs issues and the management techniques. The program has provided training to the technicians coming from Brazilian states, Latin American and the Caribbean countries, as well from African countries speaking Portuguese language.
These intensive training courses, approximately a month longer, aimed at strengthening the capacity of countries in the region including various states of Brazil to fulfill their obligations under the Stockholm Convention. Furthermore, since 2014 the training program included mercury in order to expand its scope to cover the Minamata Convention covering 326 professionals, including some specific short training courses, under the Regional Centre Small Grant Program since 2009.
In 2015, the Centre has developed an e-Learning Course on the Stockholm Convention on POPs and various aspects of its implementation and, in its first edition has been attended by 250 participants.
For more information visit: www.cetesb.sp.gov.br.