Suva, Fiji, was the venue for two back-to back workshops: the Regional Workshop on National Implementation Plans, held from 4 to 6 April 2016, and the Inception Workshop of the GMP Pacific Islands GEF, project held from 6 to 8 April 2016. Featuring 18 participants from 14 Pacific Islands Countries, jointly organized by the University of the South Pacific, BRS Secretariat and UNEP Chemicals and Waste Branch, the workshop was financially supported by the GEF GMP Pacific project and the NIP project executed by UNEP.  

The Pacific region is extremely diverse and parties to the Stockholm Convention experience a very wide range of challenges for implementation, including management of E-waste and pesticides.  These issues and more were discussed by the NIP workshop participants during two days which covered inventory taking, addressing priorities and writing effective action plans.

The project “Continuing Regional Support for the POPs Global Monitoring Plan under the Stockholm Convention” aims to measure the presence of POPs in the Pacific sub-region and to strengthen countries’ capacity for POPs monitoring. Discussed were details on the activities and responsibilities of principal actors and relevant stakeholders in project implementation, including a detailed workplan, timetable and budget.

Next steps for parties in the region include continued work on national inventories and setting of priorities as well as following up on the workplan to implement the agreed GMP activities.

For more information on Stockholm Convention NIPs see the BRS website or contact Ms.Katarina Magulova at Katarina.magulova@brsmeas.org.

For information on the project “Continuing Regional Support for the POPs Global Monitoring Plan under the Stockholm Convention” visit the UNEP website, or contact Ms. Jacqueline Alvarez at Jacqueline.alvarez@unep.org.

The Stockholm Convention Regional Centre in Kenya (SCRC-Kenya) is hosted by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), in Nairobi. 

The icipe, founded in 1970, was nominated by the Africa region to serve as a Stockholm Convention Regional Centre in July 2010.Its primary objective is to research and develop alternative and environmentally friendly pest and vector management strategies that are effective, selective, non-polluting, non-resistance inducing, and which are affordable to resource-limited rural and urban communities. The Centre was endorsed by COP5 in 2011 as a regional and sub-regional centre for capacity building and the transfer of technology for a period of four years. Further, in 2015 the COP7 evaluated the performance of SCRC-Kenya; took note of its excellent performance and endorsed it for another term of four years. The Centre provides assistance mainly to almost all the African countries but could also support countries in other continents having similar issues.

Being hosted in icipe, SCRC Kenya focuses at undertaking research and development for non-chemical alternatives to the use of hazardous pesticides including persistence organic pollutants (POPs) for management of pests and disease vectors. It also promotes capacity-building and transfer of technology to farmers and other stakeholders. Alternative technologies and conservation efforts contribute to reduction in the use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and other hazardous chemicals in vector and pest control in Africa, and thus reduce their negative impacts. The activities of the SCRC-Kenya are particularly important because most of the POPs that are listed under the Stockholm Convention are pesticides.

A key solution to reducing the impact of hazardous synthetic pesticide substances is to shift to the use of non-chemical alternatives for control of pests and disease vectors. In Africa however, many countries face major barriers to the accomplishment of the shift to the use of non-chemical alternatives that include inadequate expertise, resources, relevant information, technology, and development assistance and policies.

SCRC-Kenya has a long tradition of collaboration, with over 100 partner institutions in Africa and elsewhere in the world that include National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), NGOs, universities, other international organizations. The Centre’s R&D work involves rural communities and  members, farmers and farmer groups, national extension service providers and community-based organizations. SCRC-Kenya has formulated innovative approaches through Public-Private Community Partnerships (PPCPs) to create better and more effective products, processes, services and technologies

SCRC-Kenya works in a holistic and integrated approach through a 4-H paradigm comprising “Human Health, Animal Health, Plant Health and Environmental Health”. Research and development has led to a number of effective alternatives that are contributing to reduction in the use of hazardous pesticides including persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Africa. Some of the most successful initiatives taken by the centre that led to significant reduction in the use of chemical based pesticides include:

• ‘Push–pull’ habitat management strategy
• Biopesticides
• Fruit-fly Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
• Diamondback moth biological control
• Classical biological control against the spotted stemborer Chilo partellus
• Tsetse repellent collars; traps for control of tsetse flies
• Habitat management for mosquito control; solar-powered mosquito traps; plant-derived mosquito control products
• Honeybees; African Reference Laboratory for Bee Health
• Training of African scientists
• Training of rural community members in Africa

For more information on these initiatives and other information relating to icipe SCRC-Kenya please visit the website: www.icipe.org and for more on other Regional Centres, see https://synergies.pops.int/Implementation/TechnicalAssistance/RegionalCentres/tabid/2636/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Iraq has acceded to the Stockholm Convention, depositing its instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 8 March 2016. The Convention will enter into force for Iraq on 6 June 2016, and this action increases the total number of Parties to 180. More information is available from the Status of Ratifications page.

The first meeting of the EE Committee (February 16-18) requested its Chair and Vice-chair to send a letter to all national focal points of the Convention to reiterate the COP-7 request for the submission of outstanding third national reports, a key information basis for the successful completion of the Committee’s work.

Reports submitted by April 30^th can still be taken into account in the Committee’s review of the effectiveness of the Convention. The Committee had a successful first meeting, reviewing a preliminary assessment document prepared by the secretariat, and noting the critical importance of additional sources of data before drawing conclusions and making recommendations on whether the Convention is achieving its objective.  The Committee also charted a path forward to its next meeting in October 2016 and COP-8. The report will be available on the website shortly.