Guidelines on best available techniques and provisional guidance on best environmental practices

To facilitate implementation of Article 5, Parties recognized the need for a harmonized framework for elaboration of comparable release inventories of Annex C chemicals, and for detailed state-of the-art guidelines on best available techniques and guidance on best environmental practices.

Development of such a harmonized framework and guidance was initiated by UNEP Chemicals in broad cooperation with experts from developed as well as developing countries, before the Convention entered into force. Currently this process continues under the Convention with the goal of keeping all relevant documents and procedures up-to date and developing them further as necessary and appropriate.

The Guidelines on best available techniques and guidance on best environmental practices provide the necessary guidance called for in paragraph c) of the Article 5:

To minimize their releases of POPs from unintentional production, Parties shall promote in some cases and require in others the use of best available techniques, and promote the application of best environmental practices.

Guidelines on best available techniques and provisional guidance on best environmental practices

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When applying best available techniques and best environmental practices, Parties should take into consideration the general guidance on prevention and release reduction measures in Annex C. To provide Parties with detailed state-of the-art guidance, the guidelines on BAT&BEP were developed under the Stockholm Convention and adopted by decision SC-3/5 of the Conference of the Parties.

The Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention, at its first meeting in its decision SC-1/19, established an Expert Group on BAT&BEP with a mandate to complete further work on the enhancement and strengthening where need be of the “draft guidelines on BAT and guidance on BEP relevant to Article 5 and Annex C of the Convention”. The draft guidelines (document UNEP/POPS/COP.1/INF/7) were developed since the year 2002 by the Expert Group on BAT&BEP established for this purpose by the sixth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for an International Legally Binding Instrument for Implementing International Action on Certain Persistent Organic Pollutants.

In its decision SC-3/5 the Conference adopted the present revised draft guidelines on BAT and provisional guidance on BEP, and invited Parties and others to provide to the Secretariat comments on their experience with their implementation. In accordance with Article 5 of the Convention, the guidelines and guidance should be taken into consideration by Parties when applying BAT&BEP. They may also be used to assist decision-making at the country level in the implementation of action plans and other actions related to the obligations under Article 5 and Annex C.

• Section I is an introduction and includes the purpose and structure of the document; a brief description of the characteristics and risks of chemicals listed in Annex C of the Stockholm Convention; directly relevant provisions of the Stockholm Convention, Article 5 and Annex C; a summary of required measures under these provisions; and an explanation of the relationship of these provisions to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal.
• Section II provides guidance on consideration of alternatives, including a checklist that may be used in applying best available techniques to new sources, and information on other considerations of the Stockholm Convention.
• Section III includes general guidance, applicable principles and descriptions of considerations that cut across multiple source categories.
• Section IV is a compilation of the summaries provided for each category source in sections V and VI.
• Sections V and VI contain specific guidelines for each source category listed in Part II and Part III of Annex C of the Stockholm Convention. For each of the source-specific guidelines, the following information is provided:

• Process description;
• Sources of chemicals listed in Annex C;
• Primary and secondary measures;
• Performance levels;
• Performance reporting;
• Case studies.

References and bibliographic information are provided for each of the guidelines.

The guidelines can be used by different audiences that are involved in the implementation of the Stockholm Convention at the national level, such as policy makers, regulatory authorities, engineers, other technical users, other stakeholders and interested parties.

It is suggested that users refer to the following sections:

Guidelines on best available techniques and provisional guidance on best environmental practices relevant to Article 5 and Annex C  (view/download)