The Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention is joining forces with the Stockholm Convention Unit of the Environmental Management Branch of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

The Secretariat will held a one day training in practical use of the Guidelines on Best Available Techniques and Best Environmental Practices relevant to Article 5 and Annex C of the Stockholm Convention on 2^nd of November 2009 in conjunction with the Launching meeting of the Regional BAT and BEP Forum for Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia (CEECCA) to Promote Strategies to Reduce or Eliminate Unintentionally Produced POPs from Industry jointly organized by the Stockholm Convention Unit of the Environmental Management Branch of UNIDO, and the Ministry of Environment of Romania.

Background

To minimize and where feasible eliminate releases of persistent organic pollutants from unintentional production Parties shall promote in some cases and require in others the use of best available techniques and promote application of best environmental practices.

When applying best available techniques and best environmental practices Parties should take into consideration the guidelines on best available techniques and best environmental practices developed under the Stockholm Convention and adopted by decision SC-3/5 of the Conference of the Parties.

In accordance with decisions SC-1/20 and SC-3/5 the Secretariat is undertaking awareness raising and capacity building activities on the above-mentioned guidelines at regional and sub-regional levels to promote their understanding and use.

Draft agenda

1. Updates on implementation of Article 5 of the Stockholm Convention after COP-4 

   1. Revisions and updates of POPs release inventories; 

   2. Implementation, evaluation and updating of action plans to reduce releases of unintentional POPs.

2. Guidelines on BAT & Guidance on BEP

   1. Structure and contents of the BAT&BEP Guidelines

   2. Practical use of the BAT&BEP Guidelines (group work: case study exercises)

Expected outputs

• Participants will have clear understanding about Party obligations under Article 5 of the Stockholm Convention, as well as elements and timeframe of implementation;
• Awareness on the BAT&BEP guidelines will be raised and participants will be trained on practical use of the guidelines;
• The Secretariat will receive feedback on experience with use of the guidelines and their usefulness;
• Exchange of experience and lessons learned between the relevant stakeholders in addressing unintentional releases of persistent organic pollutants.