The global monitoring plan (GMP) for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) stands as a vital cornerstone in evaluating the effectiveness of the Stockholm Convention. It establishes a framework to systematically collect comparable monitoring data concerning the presence of POPs across all regions. This concerted effort aims to identify changes in POPs concentrations over time and to elucidate their regional and global environmental transport.
The task of data and information collection, including capacity-enhancement activities and the development of regional monitoring reports, lies with regional organization groups within each of the five UN Regions. A global coordination group oversees the implementation of the global monitoring plan across the regions and the development of the GMP report.
The first, second and third GMP reports have been submitted to the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention. The first GMP report serve to provide a baseline insight into the concentrations of the 12 initial POPs. The second GMP report presents preliminary indications of concentration shifts for the 12 initial POPs, alongside baseline information on the newly listed POPs. Central to the third phase of the GMP was the enhancement of data comparability within and across monitoring programmes. This approach facilitates the assessment of changes in temporal POPs levels and increases understanding of regional and global transport of POPs.
Supplementing this effort is a guidance document for the global monitoring plan, intended to support comparability and consistency in monitoring results. It encompasses guidelines for data and information collection, analysis, and reporting. The guidance also includes information on the sampling and analysis of the newly listed POPs.