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At the launching of the NIP at the Agriculture Ministry’s Boardroom last Thursday, Minister of Agriculture Dr. Leslie Ramsammy highlighted the POPs related issues in Guyana that require addressing.
Legal measures
Among these, he noted that it is important to ensure that all necessary legal and regulatory measures are in place so as to fulfill compliance requirements and to ensure that current national inventories of POPs in use and remaining as stockpiles waste or in contaminated sites are established.
In addition, the minister stated that it is essential to identify and implement measures necessary to address the phase out of POPs in use and their environmental sound management in the form of stockpiles, waste and/or POPs contaminated sites.
He further stressed that Guyana has agreed to the Stockholm Convention and that the country will operate within the provisions of that convention.
“That is the law, that’s what we will do. And we do so, not to punish anyone, we do so to protect every Guyanese today and tomorrow,” he asserted.
The preparation of the NIP has been undertaken in fulfillment of the country’s obligations to the convention, which Guyana became a party to in 2007.
According to a press release from the PTCCB, the NIP preparation began in August 2010 with funding from the Global Environment Facility. It noted that Guyana has never been a producer of chemicals defined under the Convention as POPs, but it did import and use POPs either as chemicals or as contained in products and equipment.
Similarly, it would be expected to have sources of unintentional POPs released and POPs legacies in the form of stockpiles, waste and contaminated sites.
The release pointed out that Guyana is well advanced in addressing sound chemicals management generally and POPs issues specifically, noting that it has a stable and well established institutional structure for chemicals management.
However, it emphasised that the NIP seeks to enhance and strengthen chemicals management in Guyana and address current POPs still in use and stockpiles that are existing.
“The NIP which is a living document houses integrally a five-year national implementation plan and will be endorsed within the framework of the national sustainable development strategy,” it advised.
The release further said that the NIP was carried out through inventorisation of all areas under the Convention and highlights the main areas that have to be addressed nationally.
The detailed Action Plan developed under the NIP covers the period 2013-2018 and defines specific outcomes, outputs and responsibilities.
According to the press release, a total incremental funding requirement of US$7.65 million is estimated for this period with identified sources of this funding being national budgets, industry/private sector contribution, and international donors through multi-lateral and bi-lateral organizations and international financial institutions.
In addition, following consultation with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Secretariat, the PTCCB has initiated the development of a full scale project proposal that will target the main priority activities identified in the NIP with an objective for initiating this work in 2014.
