The Africa Stockpiles Programme will complement several international legal instruments that address chemical and hazardous material management. While developing its own criteria and objectives, ASP will also help to advance the objectives of these global conventions. Country eligibility for disposal or prevention projects, for example, will take into account whether countries have ratified or acceded to agreements such as the Stockholm, Basel, Bamako, and Rotterdam Conventions.
Adopted on May 22, 2001, in Stockholm, Sweden, the POPs Convention calls for outright banning and destruction of some of the world's most dangerous chemicals. As of 3 July 2002, the Stockholm Convention had been signed by 151 countries and regional economic integration organizations with wide geographic distribution, representing a very high level of political commitment for ratification. The Stockholm Convention seeks the elimination or restriction of production and use of intentionally produced POPs.
Parties are required to submit National Implementation Plans (NIPs) within two years of the date on which the convention enters into force. As of 3 July 2002, 41 African countries had signed or acceded to the Stockholm Convention and had thus become eligible for GEF assistance with NIPs. These plans are to include strategies for identifying stockpiled and waste POPs, action plans on the control and substitution of DDT, and action plans to reduce or eliminate POPs releases from unintentional production.
Almost all countries will need to develop environmentally sound projects to clean up their POPs pesticide stockpiles. In many regions, particularly in the developing countries, society still lacks appropriate and adequate destruction facilities, and the costs associated with providing them may be greater than the region can afford without technical and financial assistance. Where POPs pesticides are involved, the disposal and prevention activities envisaged by ASP have the potential to provide considerable practical support for tasks identified in the convention-mandated NIPs.
The Africa Stockpiles Programme (ASP) aims to clear all obsolete pesticide stocks from Africa and put in place measures to prevent their recurrence. The concept of a continent-wide stockpiles project grew out of informal discussions between NGOs and several inter-governmental organizations. ASP's objective is to clean up stockpiled pesticides and pesticide-contaminated waste (e.g., containers and equipment) in Africa in an environmentally sound manner; catalyze development of prevention measures; and provide capacity building and institutional strengthening on important chemicals-related issues.
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal was concluded in Basel, Switzerland, on March 22, 1989, and entered into force in May 1992. Now ratified by 149 countries including 32 of the 53 African countries, the focus of this convention is to control the movement of hazardous wastes, ensure their environmentally sound management and disposal, and prevent illegal waste trafficking. The parties to this convention recognize the serious problems posed by stockpiles of unused and unwanted chemical products which, as a result of their obsolescence, are now considered wastes. At a ministerial-level meeting held in Rabat, Morocco, in January 2001, African countries declared their intent to work with other interested parties from all sectors of civil society to rid all 53 countries of Africa of these stockpiled wastes over the next 10 years.
The Rabat Programme of Action, agreed at the close of the ministerial meeting, aims to enhance the capacity of the region to
The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedures for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (PIC) emerged in response to concerns about the dramatic growth in chemical production and trade during the last three decades and the associated risks posed by hazardous chemicals and pesticides. Countries lacking adequate infrastructure to monitor import and use of such substances were particularly vulnerable. Adopted in Rotterdam on September 10, 1998, the treaty enables parties to review basic health and environmental data on specified chemicals and to permit or refuse any incoming shipments of those chemicals. The objective of this convention is to promote shared responsibility and cooperative efforts among parties in the international trade of certain hazardous chemicals and to contribute to their environmentally sound use through information exchange. As of March 2002 the convention had 73 signatories and 20 parties.
Activities aimed at institutional strengthening, development of regulatory frameworks, and capacity building in the area of chemical safety in African countries have the potential to serve the objectives of both the Rotterdam Convention and ASP. For example, improved capacity to manage the import of chemicals on the basis of the convention's prior informed consent process should also contribute to the ASP objective of preventing future buildups of obsolete pesticides.
The Montreal Protocol, aimed at the control and elimination of ozone depleting substances, has demonstrated useful lessons with regard to the design and implementation of country or sector level strategies which combine capacity building, regulatory and legislative development, and disposal activities. The protocol came into force on January 1st, 1989, and has been ratified by 183 countries.
Adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and ratified by over 175 countries, the Convention on Biological Diversity has three main goals:
The Convention on Biological Diversity is highly relevant to the Africa Stockpiles Programme due to the threats to biodiversity posed by obsolete pesticides. These chemicals, particularly POPS pesticides, can severely affect plant life, wildlife, marine systems, domestic animals, and humans.
The Bamako Convention on the Ban of the Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within Africa was adopted on January 30, 1991, in Bamako, Mali. Participation is limited to members of the Organization of African Unity. The convention's objectives are to