Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting on SAICM May 2007, Bangkok Supporting SAICM implementation: Pilot projects, new guidance materials, and related activities Brandon Turner Programmes in Chemicals, Waste and Environmental Governance

2 Overview of presentation UNITAR overview Strengthening the foundation for chemicals management: Enabling activities Key methodologies/concepts Selected projects

3 UNITAR: Assisting countries with SAICM enabling activities UNITAR provides a variety of services to assist with capacity development related to SAICM enabling activities Experiences gained in over 10 years of working with countries to develop integrated chemicals management approaches/ programmes Coordination with/formal participation of IOMC Participating Organizations and observers; SBC, OPCW, and the SAICM Secretariat A series of guidance and training materials used in over 100 countries currently being updated, and new materials developed in light of SAICM outcomes

4 Strengthening the foundations of chemicals management The broad scope and multitude of work areas in SAICM, numerous international agreements on chemicals/wastes, and the almost countless individual commitments each country makes constitutes an enormous challenge Developing the necessary infrastructure and ensuring needed processes are in place in the country provides an “enabling environment” or “enabling conditions”

5 SAICM enabling activities Enabling activities can include, inter alia: National Profile development/updating National capacity assessments and priority setting Multi-stakeholder committee/platform development Information exchange mechanisms Public participation activities National SAICM implementation plan development, with full stakeholder participation Individual action plans on substantive topics of chemicals management – Partnerships between stakeholders are encouraged Development of Integrated National Programmes

6 SAICM enabling activities “Implementation of the Strategic Approach could begin with an enabling phase to build necessary capacity, as appropriate, to develop, with relevant stakeholder participation, a national Strategic Approach implementation plan...” (OPS) “the objective of the Quick Start Programme is to support initial enabling capacity-building and implementation activities…” (Resolution I/4 of the ICCM)

Thematic workshop

8 Thematic workshop outcomes Developed understanding of challenges and opportunities for SAICM implementation at the national level Explored options for developing sound governance structures for SAICM implementation Discussed challenges and opportunities for involving civil society and private sector in national SAICM implementation Developed understanding on elements of partnerships for sound chemicals management Provided input to national SAICM pilot projects

9 National Chemicals Management Profiles

10 National Chemicals Management Profiles Overview of national legal, institutional, administrative, and technical infrastructure for national chemicals management National Profile development process is a key component Assists in identification of infrastructure-related strengths, weaknesses, and gaps, as well as priority needs for national action and external technical assistance Baseline against which progress may be judged in meeting specific national or international targets (e.g. SAICM)

11 National Chemicals Management Profiles Over 100 countries have prepared National Profile or are in process of preparing Used as starting point for Stockholm Convention NIPs in over 50 countries Guidance currently being updated in light of SAICM outcomes National Profile Homepage

12 SAICM and National Chemicals Management Profiles QSP Strategic Priority: “development or updating of national chemical profile…” ICCM Global Plan of Action emphasizes efforts such as: “assessment of national chemicals management to identify gaps and prioritize actions” (activity 207) identifying “priority gaps in chemicals management regimes and practices” (activity 121)

13 National Chemicals Management Profiles

- Situation and gap analysis - Timeframes - Milestones - Budget - Responsibilities Problem statement Activity Task Objective Goal Activity Task Objective Action plan skills building

15 National SAICM Capacity Assessment

Purpose of a National SAICM Capacity Assessment Catalyzes collaboration between government and stakeholders towards understanding and identifying priority needs Builds on National Profile and other sources (e.g. NIP) Facilitates identifying priority actions for SAICM implementation Highlights possible areas for partnership projects between stakeholders Sets the stage for preparation of a SAICM Implementation Plan which may be linked to an integrated national programme for sound chemicals management 16

17 Government Major Stakeholder Group (e.g. Environmental NGOs) Major Stakeholder Group (e.g. Environmental NGOs) Major Stakeholder Group (e.g. Business and Industry) Major Stakeholder Group (e.g. Business and Industry) National SAICM Capacity Assessment Governance Framework Chemicals Management Issues and Priorities National SAICM Capacity Assessment Governance Framework Chemicals Management Issues and Priorities Urgency & Importance of Taking Action Concerned Actors Proposed approach for development of a National SAICM Capacity Assessment Possible Action Opportunities for Partnership Projects Capacity Strengths and Gaps

Proposed areas for the governance assessment Integrating chemicals management into national development priorities Sound institutional and programmatic national framework Effective project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation Legislation and enforcement Participation of the private sector and civil society in chemicals management 18

Sample worksheet for the governance assessment A.2 A Sound Institutional and Programmatic National Framework Category (and related GPA activities) Level of existing capacities: High / Medium / Low Summary of strengths & gaps Possible action Priority for taking action: High / Medium / Low 2.1 Establishing an Inter-ministerial Coordination Mechanism (56, 166, 195, 197, 252) Medium Coordinating mechanism in place but not formalised Ministries of health and finance not participating Develop a ministerial decree Letter from existing chair to Ministries of Health and Finance High 19

Proposed areas for the chemicals management assessment Information generation and dissemination Risk Reduction Education and awareness raising Accident prevention and control Analytical and laboratory capacity 20

Proposed steps for the chemicals management assessment Step 1: (screening) Identifying important and urgent chemicals management issues Step 2: Conducting in-depth capacity assessment for important and urgent chemicals management issues Capacity gaps, possible action, concerned actors, urgency and importance Step 3: Identifying: possible national priorities stakeholder group actions identifying opportunities for partnership projects 21

Proposed structure of the National SAICM Capacity Assessment 1. Executive Summary 2. Summary Assessment: National Governance Structure 3. Summary Assessment: Chemicals Management Issues and Priorities 4. Opportunities for Partnership Projects 5. Annexes: Completed worksheets 22

23 Government Major Stakeholder Group (e.g. Environmental NGOs) Major Stakeholder Group (e.g. Environmental NGOs) Major Stakeholder Group (e.g. Business and Industry) Major Stakeholder Group (e.g. Business and Industry) Stakeholder Action Stakeholder Action National SAICM Capacity Assessment Assessment of Governance Framework Assessment of Chemicals Management Issues and Priorities National SAICM Capacity Assessment Assessment of Governance Framework Assessment of Chemicals Management Issues and Priorities Stakeholder Action Stakeholder Action National Chemicals Management Programme/ SAICM Implementation Framework Governance Framework Chemicals Management Action Plans and Partnership Projects National Chemicals Management Programme/ SAICM Implementation Framework Governance Framework Chemicals Management Action Plans and Partnership Projects Government Action Government Action Development of a SAICM Capacity Assessment and National SAICM Implementation Framework

24 UNITAR: Assisting countries with integrated national programmes/enabling activities UNITAR is assisting 33 projects (planned or confirmed) on SAICM enabling activities QSP Round I: Armenia, Burkina Faso, Chile, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Haiti, Georgia, Madagascar, Mongolia, Rwanda, São Tomé & Principe, Serbia, and Syria QSP Round II (proposed): Barbados, Bolivia, Burundi, Cambodia, Chad, Comoros, Eritrea, Kiribati, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Malawi, Nepal, Nicaragua, Palestine

25 UNITAR-assisted QSP TF projects National Profile Development/ Updating National Profile Development/ Updating SAICM Capacity Assessment SAICM Capacity Assessment National Priority Setting Workshop Governance Assessment Governance Priorities Chemicals Management Priority Setting Chemicals Management Assessment

26 UNITAR: Assisting countries with integrated national programmes/enabling activities UNITAR has been assisting countries with building/ strengthening capacities Integrated National Programme—since : Argentina, Ghana, Indonesia, Slovenia : Ecuador, Senegal, Sri Lanka : Armenia, Chad, Jamaica, Jordan : Belarus, Panama, Pakistan, Tanzania

27 National SAICM Pilot Projects 3 developing countries and 1 country in economic transition: Belarus, Panama, Pakistan, and Tanzania Project countries selected by UNITAR/IOMC Project Task Force (June 2006) Country projects will take place over a period of 3 years ( ) Funded by Government of Switzerland (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN)) as a contribution to the QSP

28 National SAICM Pilot Projects Develop an Integrated National Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste Focus on governance, stakeholder participation, and partnerships to support national SAICM implementation Addresses: priority setting, concrete action (including partnership projects), and mainstreaming

National SAICM Pilot Projects: Key milestones National Profile and other relevant material National Profile and other relevant material SAICM Capacity Assessment SAICM Capacity Assessment National Forum on Governance and Priority Setting Agreed Governance Structure Inter-ministerial Coordination Stakeholder Involvement Partnership Project 1 Partnership Project 2 National Review Workshop Information Exchange Mechanism and Website National Development Planning Process (ongoing feedback and integration of chemicals and waste management)

30 SUBSTANTIVE AREAS OF INTEGRATED CHEMICALS MANAGEMENT COORDINATED LEGISLATION & ENFORCEMENT INTEGRATED EMERGENCY RESPONSE / POISON CONTROL INTEGRATED STRENGTHENING OF ANALYTICAL CAPACITIES … INTEGRATED IMPORT CONTROL CLASSIFICATION AND LABELLING (GHS) NATIONAL INFORMATION EXCHANGE MECHANISM NATIONAL POLICY DEVELOPMENT NATIONAL PROFILE PREPARATION NATIONAL PROFILE PREPARATION AWARENESS RAISING & COMMMUNICATION COORDINATED FINANCIAL RESOURCE MOBILISATION INTEGRATED CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY STRATEGIC PLANNING AND MONITORING STRATEGIC EVALUATION NATIONAL COORDINATING PLATFORM PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS INDUSTRY RESEARCH & ACADEMIA … MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY OF LABOUR MINISTRY OF LABOUR MINISTRY OF HEALTH MINISTRY OF HEALTH … MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE National and International Priorities

31 Conclusions Strong foundation is essential for SAICM implementation UNITAR stands ready to assist further countries with SAICM enabling activities and implementation of “substantive” areas Work is ongoing with support through broader QSP and also QSP TF Demand FAR exceeds supply – over 50 formal requests for assistance on record

32 For more information