1.  Opening of the meeting

2.  Organizational matters

Item 1. Opening of the meeting

The first meeting of the Expert Group on Best Available Techniques and Best Environmental Practices will be held from 28 November to 2 December 2005 in the Geneva International Conference Centre, Rue de Varembé 15, Geneva, Switzerland. The meeting will be opened at 10:00 a.m. on Monday 28 November 2005.

Opening and welcoming statements will be delivered.

Note by the Secretariat

Subparagraphs (d) and (e) of Article 5 of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants include the provision that

“… 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 of the Convention] and guidelines on best available techniques and best environmental practices to be adopted by decision of the Conference of the Parties”

1. At its first meeting, the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention, in its decision SC-1/19, invited Parties and others to submit comments on the draft guidelines and provisional guidance, as contained in document UNEP/POPS/COP.1/INF/7, to the Secretariat by 31 August 2005 for consideration by the Expert Group at its first meeting. 2. In response to the invitation in the aforementioned decision the Secretariat received comments from 14 Parties and 13 Non Parties. The actual submissions are reproduced in document UNEP/POPS/EGBATBEP.1/INF/5.

Note by the Secretariat

At its first meeting, the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention, in its decision SC-1/19, adopted the terms of reference for the Expert Group on Best Available Techniques and Best Environmental Practices. Section II of the above-mentioned terms of reference states that: “The Expert Group shall consider the request from the Conference of the Parties of the Basel Convention at its seventh meeting and, if practicable, develop information on best available techniques and best environmental practices with respect to unintentionally produced POPs, including recent technologies for destruction and irreversible transformation listed in the Basel Convention’s general technical guidelines, as referred to in decision SC-1/21 of the Conference of the Parties.

Introduction

1. The Expert Group on Best Available Techniques and Best Environmental Practices was established pursuant to decision SC-1/19, adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants at its first meeting, in May 2005.

Note by the Secretariat

The annex to the present note contains a scenario note developed by the Co-Chairs of the Expert Group on Best Available Techniques and Best Environmental Practices, Mr. Gang Yu (China) and Mr. Bo Wahlstrom (Sweden), to assist participants in preparing for the first meeting of the Expert Group.

( UNEP/POPS/EGBATBEP.1/1

Note by the Secretariat

A tentative schedule of work of the first meeting of the Expert Group on Best Available Techniques and Best Environmental Practices is contained in the annex to the present note. The schedule will be adapted as work progresses.

Note by the Secretariat

The appendix I to the present note contains paragraphs 36 to 38 of the report of the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, held from 2 to 6 May 2005 in Punta del Este, Uruguay (ref. UNEP/POPS/COP.1/31).

Section II of the terms of reference for the Expert Group on Best Available Techniques and Best Environmental Practices contained in Annex I of UNEP/POPS/COP.1/31 and also in Annex II of UNEP/POPS/EGBATBEP.1/INF/3, states that the Exp ert Group shall also consider input from the six regional consultations held prior to the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties. Attached to the present note is an overview and summary of the outcomes from the six regional consultations on the draft guidelines on best available techniques (BAT) and best environmental practices (BEP) relevant to Article 5 and Annex C of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, held between February and April 2005.

1. At its first meeting, the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention, in its decision SC-1/19, invited Parties and others to submit comments on the draft guidelines and provisional guidance, as contained in document UNEP/POPS/COP.1/INF/7, to the Secretariat by 31 August 2005 for consideration by the Expert Group at its first meeting. 2. Pursuant to that invitation, the Secretariat received submissions from the following Parties: Argentina, Austria, China, Cyprus, Ecuador, France, Germany, Japan, Mauritius, Mexico, Portugal, Rwanda, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In addition, submissions were also received from: Colombia, Bangladesh, Italy, Lithuania, Palestine, Poland, the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN), American Forest and Paper Association (AF & PA), Bromine Science and Environment Forum (BSEF), World Chlorine Council (WCC), International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) and the United Nations Environment Programme.