The Regional capacity building workshop on the Best Available Techniques and Best Environmental Practices (BAT/BEP) guidelines and the Environmentally Sound Management (ESM) of POPs wastes and PCBs for English-speaking countries in Africa took place from 15 to 19 June 2009 in Gigiri, UNEP Headquarters, Nairobi, Kenya. The workshop, which was co-organized by UNEP Regional Office for Africa (ROA), gathered a total of 72 participants from 24 country Parties, NGOs, universities, environmental institutes, regional business organizations and individual companies from Anglophone Africa
To minimize the releases of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from unintentional production, Parties shall promote in some cases and require in others, the use of best available techniques (BAT), and promote the application of best environmental practices (BEP). When applying BAT & BEP, Parties should take into consideration the guidelines on BAT & BEP developed under the Stockholm Convention and adopted by the Conference of the Parties (decision SC-3/5). In accordance with decision SC-1/20, the Secretariat is undertaking awareness raising activities on these guidelines at regional and sub-regional levels. In its decision SC-3/7, the Parties to the Stockholm Convention requested the Secretariat to undertake training and other capacity building activities to assist developing countries and countries with economies in transition in implementing the Basel Convention technical guidelines on POPs waste. In response to this request, the Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention has developed an electronic training tool on the POPs wastes guidelines and provide direct assistance to Parties through regional workshops on the Environmentally Sound Management (ESM) of POPs waste.
increased knowledge on Party obligations pertaining to unintentional emissions of POPs, environmentally sound management of PCBs and POPs wastes under the Stockholm Convention;
enhanced understanding of concepts, principles and standards presented in the guidelines on best available techniques & best environmental practices (BAP&BEP) and in the interactive training tool on POPs wastes, as well as their possible interlinkages; in order to facilitate the effective implementation of these guidelines at national level;
experiences and lessons learned exchanged among the relevant stakeholders, in addressing unintentional emissions of POPs and environmentally sound management of PCBs and POPs wastes, including delivery of technical assistance and transfer of technologies and knowledge;
feedback received by the Secretariat on the experience from Parties in using the various guidelines and training tools as well as their usefulness.
BAT&BEP examples applied to source categories listed in Section V of the guidelines:
Case study exercises related to source categories listed in the guidelines on BAT and BEP:
Work group results:
Environmental Sound Management (ESM) of POPs wastes:
BATBEP Guidelines and guidance
Training tool on ESM of POPs wastes
Guidelines on ESM of PCBs developed by ETI Environmental Technology
Guidelines on oil spill and PCB management developed by SAPP
A first visit was organized in Dandora, Nairobi’s principal dumping site which borders Korogocha, an informal settlement. Dumping at the site is unrestricted. Industrial, agricultural, domestic and medical wastes are strewn all over the site. According to a study undertaken with the support of UNEP every day, scavengers, including children, from the nearby slums and low-income residential areas use the dump to find recyclables and other valuables they can sell as a source of income. Toxics fumes as well as dioxins and furans are released everyday from routine waste burning. The study carried out by UNEP has found high levels of heavy metals, such as lead, mercury and cadmium in local residents and in the soil of the river bank that passes by the dump.
The other site visited was a PCB graveyard where decommissioned transformers and capacitors were buried by the Kenya power and lightening company. The site was decontaminated a few years ago and equipment had been withdrawn and shipped abroad for sound environmental disposal.
The last visit took place in a flower plantation operating along the Lake Naivasha. The company’s representative explained the procedures established by the company to monitor pesticides residues in food and in the environment, as well as their management practices when handling, using and storing pesticides.
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