CENTRAL AMERICA BEGINS THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF CHEMISTRY PREPARING A CLEAN UP OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES

San Salvador, January 27, 2011. The Basel Convention Regional Center for Central America and Mexico (BCRC-CAM) is pleased to announce that in January 2011 it has started an important initiative aimed at the destruction of banks of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in Central America. Indeed, this initiative is a tremendous way to celebrate 2011 designated by the United Nations the International Year of Chemistry, as it will not only help to clean up Central America of hazardous substances, but it will also contribute to the protection of the ozone layer and the combat against climate change at the global level. The latter because ODS include super green house gases, with have much higher impact in climate change than CO2.

The initiative is supported by two projects, the Feasibility Assessment and Preparation of the Destruction of ODS and POPs Banks in Central America and the Pilot Destruction of ODS and POPs and Legal Analysis of Feasibility of Transboundary Movements within Central American Countries. These projects are being financed by the governments of Switzerland and Norway respectively, with a total of $191,000.

Moreover, an International Advisory Committee (IAC) is being established to support the initiative. Amongst the Committee members are two Co-Chairs of the Technical and Economic Assessment Panel of the Montreal Protocol, the Basel, Stockholm Conventions and Montreal Protocol Secretariats, the United Nations for Environmental Protection (UNEP), the United States Environmental Protection

Agency (US EPA), the Ozone Depletion Substances Division of the Department of Defense (DoD) of the United States of America, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence and the Institute of Global Studies (IGSD). The IAC will take advantage of previously successful experiences which destroyed important amounts of ODS tapping into the capacities of these two important military institutions, national authorities and the Secretariats of the Montreal Protocol and the Basel Convention.

In the course of the next weeks a Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) will be established, which the main stakeholders from the relevant government agencies, private sector, academia and non- governmental organizations will integrate. This initiative is being carried out within the implementation of the synergies process between the chemicals related Conventions and Agreements.

BCRC-CAM’s ODS and POPs initiative will contribute to strengthening the institutional, legal and technical capacities in the Central American countries. Moreover, this initiative will provide a valuable experience that could be adapted and applied by other countries in other regions of the world. The timeline for the implementation of this initiative is nine months from January until October 2011, when the initiative is expected to be ready for implementation.

To facilitate its insertion in regional efforts, BCRC-CAM is located in the headquarters office of the Executive Secretariat of the Central American Commission of Environment and Development (CCAD), within the General Secretariat of Central American Integration  (SG-SICA).
The Basel Convention is the most comprehensive global environmental treaty on hazardous wastes. It has 175 member countries (Parties). The fundamental aims of the Convention are the reduction of the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes, the prevention and minimization of their generation, the environmentally sound management of such wastes and the active promotion of the transfer and use of cleaner technologies. In an effort to impart training, transfer of technology and awareness raising activities regarding relevant issues that pertain to the Basel Convention and the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes and other wastes in the countries which it assists, the Basel Convention has established 14 Regional Centers of Training and Transfer of Technology located in ,to deliver training indifferent regions of the world to deliver training, technology transfer, information, consulting and awareness raising activities on matters relevant to the implementation of the Basel Convention and to the environmentally sound management of hazardous and other wastes.

Contact:
For more information please contact Mr. Miguel Araujo, email: maraujo@sica.int or visit , o http://www.crcbcam.sica.int.com/crcbcam, www.twitter.com/crcbcam, http://www.crcbcam.blogspot.com/.
More information on the Internet:
International Year of Chemistry