UNDP - Elimination and Reduction of Persistent Organic Pollutants

Elimination and Reduction of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

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Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are chemicals, mostly used as pesticides or industrial chemicals, that are produced and released into the environment by human activity. POPs are characterized by their long-lifetime in the environment (persistence), their potential for long-range transport and their capacity to build up to dangerous levels in predatory species. This makes that POPs are widely found in all regions of the world in both the environment and humans.

POPs can cause adverse reproductive, developmental, immunological, hormonal and carcinogenic effects in both humans and wildlife. To protect human health and the environment from POPs, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants focuses on the elimination and reduction of POPs releases. With the support of the Global Environment Facility, UNDP assists countries in building the capacity to manage POPs and to meet obligations under the Stockholm Convention.

UNDP and the Stockholm Convention

UNDP, in its role as an implementing agency of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), has been supporting developing countries, and countries with economies in transition, in their efforts to reduce and eliminate POPs and meet the objectives of the Stockholm Convention.

Many of the challenges and priorities relating to the reduction and elimination of POPs require enhancement of national capacities with respect to human resources development and institutional strengthening, as well as increased availability of technical knowledge and training opportunities.

As the United Nations’ global development network, with an on-the-ground presence in 166 countries, UNDP is well placed to assist countries in gaining the knowledge, experience and resources required to tackle POPs management and elimination issues. UNDP assists countries in meeting their commitments under the Stockholm Convention, including:

Meeting reporting obligations, sharing lessons learned and adopting global best practices.
Building necessary capacity to implement POPs risk reduction measures.
Reducing the effects of POPs on human health and the environment.
Demonstrating effective alternative technologies and practices that avoid POPs releases.

UNDP-supported country projects and global programmes address a variety of national and Stockholm Convention priorities, as well as GEF Strategic Objectives. Through the implementation of “post-NIP” projects, UNDP supports the reduction and elimination of all types of POPs contaminants included under the Stockholm Convention, covering a multitude of sectors and activities.

These sectors and activities range from POPs-free agricultural practices to reduction of uninten-tional POPs releases related to medical waste disposal, and from sound management of PCBs contained in equipment to minimization of the exposure levels of communities living close to contaminated areas.

Wherever possible and appropriate, UNDP POPs activities are undertaken within a country’s framework for sound management of chemicals, to ensure national coordination among chemicals-related activities in support of regional or global conventions and agreements on chemicals. UNDP’s key approaches to helping countries advance the sound management of chemicals include:

The publication "UNDP and the Stockholm Convention on POPs" gives an overview of the type of support UNDP provides to developing countries and countries with economies in transition in their efforts to reduce and eliminate POPs and meet the objectives of the Stockholm Convention. Download here the publication in English, Spanish or French.

The Sound Management and Disposal of POPs Pesticides

UNDP assists countries in the implementation of POPs pesticides projects, building countries’ capacity to soundly manage and dispose of POPs pesticides. POPs multi-contaminant projects, implemented by UNDP, also include important POPs pesticide components.

With respect to the sound management and disposal of POPs pesticides, UNDP supports countries in:

Developing national capacity to safely manage and dispose of obsolete POPs pesticide stockpiles. This involves training in how to identify, label, remove and transport obsolete POPs pesticides, improvement of national storage facilities and infrastructure to allow for the temporary safe storage of obsolete POPs pesticides, and identification of environmentally sound solutions for final disposal.
Promoting sustainable alternatives to POPs pesticides. This involves testing of POPs-free alternatives, awareness building about POPs-free alternatives, support for the conversion of POPs production technologies into POPs-free production opportunities, and application of Integrated Pest Management practices where possible.

Management of PCBs

UNDP supports countries in their efforts to avoid environmental releases of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are contained in e.g. electric transformers and capacitors, as well as a variety of other applications and equipment.

UNDP helps countries create an enabling policy environment for POPs risk reduction measures and build their capacity to manage and dispose of PCB-containing equipment and wastes in an environmentally sound manner by:

Strengthening legal frameworks and improving enforcement capacity pertaining to PCB management by addressing gaps in national PCB management regulations and creating an enabling environment for the environmentally sound management and destruction of PCBs.

Undertaking additional PCB inventories to identify remaining geographically dispersed PCBs and sensitive sites, for example by identifying small and medium-sized enterprises possessing a portion of the remaining inventory.

Improving PCB management practices (such as handling, storage, transport, and destruction) by providing technical guidance on management and safe disposal of PCBs and training for government officials, handlers of PCB-containing equipment, and other private sector entities, to ensure the sound management of PCBs throughout their life cycle.

Ensuring safe disposal of PCBs in collaboration with PCB-containing equipment holders, by developing safe domestic disposal facilities, facilitating export of PCB waste to safe disposal facilities abroad, and improving coordination among PCB holders to lower the cost of transport and destruction of PCBs.

Implementing public awareness campaigns and communication strategies to support all of the above activities.

Avoiding the Release of Unintentional-produced POPs (UPOPs)

Certain POPs, such as dioxins, furans, HCBs and PCBs, are unintentionally formed and released during industrial processes, and from combustion, including uncontrolled waste burning, power plants, and waste incinerators. UNDP supports countries in their efforts to reduce and eliminate such unintentional releases by:

Gradual implementation of best available techniques (BAT) and best environmental practices (BEP) for existing sources.
Use of best available techniques and best environmental practices for new sources.