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Decision
État
Actif

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The Conference of the Parties,
Noting the priority areas for action recognized in decision SC-8/18 on effectiveness evaluation as they relate to Article 5 on measures to reduce or eliminate releases from unintentional production,
1.Takes note of the nominations to the joint Toolkit and best available techniques and best environmental practices expert roster1 and the reports of the expert meetings on the Toolkit and best available techniques and best environmental practices;21UNEP/POPS/COP.8/INF/14.2UNEP/POPS/COP.8/INF/15.
2.Welcomes the updated guidance on best available techniques and best environmental practices for the use of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and related chemicals listed under the Stockholm Convention,3 the updated guidance on best available techniques and best environmental practices for the recycling and waste disposal of articles containing polybrominated diphenyl ethers listed under the Stockholm Convention4 and the draft guidance on best available techniques and best environmental practices for the production and use of hexabromocyclododecane listed with specific exemptions under the Stockholm Convention;53http://chm.pops.int/Implementation/BATandBEP/Guidance/Overview/tabid/5121/Default.aspx.4Ibid.5UNEP/POPS/COP.8/INF/16.
3.Also welcomes the conclusions and recommendations of the experts on the Toolkit and on best available techniques and best environmental practices;66UNEP/POPS/COP.8/9, annex I.
4.Adopts the workplan for the ongoing review and update of the Toolkit and the guidelines and guidance on best available techniques and best environmental practices set out in annex I to the present decision and the terms of reference for the review and update of guidelines and guidance to address releases from unintentional production and best available techniques and best environmental practices for the chemicals listed in Annexes A, B and/or C to the Stockholm Convention as set out in annex II to the present decision;
5.Requests the experts on the Toolkit and on best available techniques and best environmental practices to continue the work on the ongoing review and updating of the Toolkit and on the guidelines and guidance in accordance with the workplan and the terms of reference referred to in paragraph 4 above;
6.Requests the Secretariat, subject to the availability of resources, to continue to support the experts in the work referred to in paragraph 5 above and to continue to implement awareness‑raising and technical assistance activities to promote the Toolkit and the guidelines and guidance;
7.Invites Parties and others to participate actively in the review and updating of the Toolkit, guidelines and guidance and to submit relevant information to the Secretariat for consideration by the experts in accordance with the workplan and the terms of reference referred to in paragraph 4 above;
8.Also invites Parties and others to confirm the availability of the current experts in the joint Toolkit and best available techniques and best environmental practices expert roster and to nominate new experts with expertise related to the persistent organic pollutants listed in Annex A, B or C to the Convention to the joint roster;
9.Encourages Parties to use the Toolkit, taking into account the conclusions and recommendations of the experts on the Toolkit and on best available techniques and best environmental practices, when developing source inventories and release estimates under Article 5 of the Convention; to report the estimated releases under Article 15 of the Convention according to the source categories identified in Annex C; and to maintain up to date their action plans to minimize and ultimately eliminate releases of unintentionally produced persistent organic pollutants;
10.Also encourages Parties to consider the data quality guidance in the Toolkit and implement quality assurance and quality control as part of the development and updating of the source inventories and release estimates under Article 5 of the Convention;
11.Further encourages Parties to use the guidelines and guidance on best available techniques and best environmental practices, taking into account the conclusions and recommendations of the experts on the Toolkit and on best available techniques and best environmental practices, when implementing action plans and other measures to minimize and ultimately eliminate releases of persistent organic pollutants listed in Annexes A, B and/or C to the Convention and to share their experiences in using the guidelines and guidance, such as in the form of case studies, by means of the Stockholm Convention clearing-house mechanism.
Annex I to decision SC-8/6Workplan for the ongoing review and update of the Toolkit and the guidelines and guidance on best available techniques (BAT) and best environmental practices (BEP)
A. Areas of work
1. Toolkit
1.Collect and evaluate new information relevant to the identification and quantification of releases of unintentional persistent organic pollutants, including those listed in the Convention since 2009, i.e., pentachlorobenzene and polychlorinated naphthalenes,7 for eventual additional inclusion of emission factors in the Toolkit and provision of practical guidance to Parties on how to address these chemicals in their inventories pursuant to Article 5.7Polychlorinated naphthalenes, including dichlorinated naphthalenes, trichlorinated naphthalenes, tetrachlorinated naphthalenes, pentachlorinated naphthalenes, hexachlorinated naphthalenes, heptachlorinated naphthalenes and octachlorinated naphthalene.
2.Collect and evaluate information relevant to the identification and quantification of releases of unintentional persistent organic pollutants that would be listed at the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, i.e., hexachlorobutadiene.
2. Guidelines and guidance on BAT and BEP
(a) Guidance on BAT and BEP relevant to the persistent organic pollutants listed in Annex A or B
3.Continue to collect and evaluate relevant new information on BAT and BEP for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, its salts and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride, polybrominated diphenyl ethers8 and hexabromocyclododecane, made available by Parties and others, including on available chemical and/or non-chemical alternatives as identified by the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee, for eventual further updating of the relevant guidance documents.8Tetrabromodiphenyl ether and pentabromodiphenyl ether (commercial pentabromodiphenyl ether) and hexabromodiphenyl ether and heptabromodiphenyl ether (commercial octabromodiphenyl ether).
4.Collect and evaluate information relevant to BAT and BEP for pentachlorophenol and its salts and esters and hexachlorobutadiene listed in Annex A to the Convention for developing relevant guidance.
5.Collect and evaluate information relevant to BAT and BEP for the chemicals listed in Annex A to the Convention at the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties and assess the need for updating and/or developing additional guidance for those chemicals.
(b) Guidelines on BAT and BEP relevant to the persistent organic pollutants listed in Annex C
6.Continue to collect and evaluate new information on key sources of unintentional persistent organic pollutants as identified by Parties and the Toolkit experts, recently updated BAT reference documents, national documents on BAT and BEP, and other sources of information, and supplement and update the guidelines as appropriate.
7.Continue to collect and evaluate new information on available alternative techniques and practices and on the use of substitute or modified materials, products and processes and supplement and update the guidelines as appropriate.
8.Collect and evaluate information on BAT and BEP for sources of releases of the chemicals that were listed in Annex C to the Convention at the seventh and eighth meetings of the Conference of the Parties, assess the applicability of the existing guidance for those chemicals and supplement and update the guidelines as appropriate.
(c) Sites contaminated by persistent organic pollutants
9.Collect and evaluate information relevant to the identification and management of sites contaminated by persistent organic pollutants for developing relevant guidance.
B. Timelines
DeadlineActivity
February 2017Task teams and leads are confirmed and/or newly identified from the joint expert roster for the areas of work included in the workplan
May 2017Secretariat invites information submission from Parties and others on the work areas specified in the workplan
Continue throughout the bienniumCollection and compilation of information from Parties and others for consideration and evaluation by the experts at their annual meeting(s)
August 2017Secretariat compiles information submitted by Parties and others to that date and sends the compilation to task teams and leads by 14 August 2017
September 2017Task teams assess the information and develop proposals for updating existing guidance and/or developing additional guidance for the areas of work included in the workplan:
  • Task team leads send the draft proposals to the Secretariat by 11 September 2017
  • Secretariat sends the proposals for review by the Toolkit and BAT and BEP experts by 15 September 2017
October/November 2017Joint meeting of the Toolkit and BAT and BEP experts to consider revisions and/or additional guidance according to the proposals by task teams
June–July 2018Task teams prepare draft updated guidance and/or draft new guidance on the basis of the evaluation of the information made available and the comments by the Toolkit and BAT and BEP experts at their 2017 meeting
  • Task team leads send drafts to the Secretariat by 25 June 2018
  • Secretariat makes available the drafts on the Stockholm Convention website by 29 June 2018 for comments by the experts and by Parties and others prior to 31 July 2018
August 2018Secretariat compiles additional information submitted by that date and comments from the experts and from Parties and others and sends the compilation to task teams and leads by 5 August 2018
September 2018Task teams revise the draft updated and/or new guidance on the basis of the comments received and additional information collected
  • Task team leads send the drafts to the Secretariat by 24 September 2018
  • Secretariat makes the drafts available on the Stockholm Convention website by 28 September 2018 for comment by the experts and by Parties and others prior to 19 October 2018
October/November 2018Joint meeting of the Toolkit and BAT and BEP experts to finalize drafts, develop conclusions and recommendations and a workplan for the next biennium for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its ninth meeting
January 2019Task teams finalize the draft guidance and task team leads send the final and/or interim drafts to the Secretariat by 15 January 2019
May 2019Ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties
Annex II to decision SC-8/6Terms of reference for the review and update of guidelines and guidance to address releases from unintentional production and best available techniques and best environmental practices for the chemicals listed in Annexes A, B and/or C to the Stockholm Convention
I. Introduction
1.By decisions SC-7/7 on the Toolkit for Identification and Quantification of Releases of Dioxins, Furans and Other Unintentional Persistent Organic Pollutants and SC-7/8 on the guidelines on best available techniques and provisional guidance on best environmental practices, the Conference of the Parties recognized that the listing of new substances in Annexes A, B and/or C to the Convention would trigger the need to further update existing guidance and/or develop new guidance to support Parties in implementing new obligations and requested the experts on best available techniques (BAT) and best environmental practices (BEP) and on the Toolkit to collaborate and develop joint terms of reference for synergistically considering aspects relevant to releases from unintentional production and BAT and BEP for the chemicals listed in Annexes A, B and/or C to the Convention.
2.Elements of the joint terms of reference were discussed and agreed upon at the expert meetings on BAT and BEP and the Toolkit held in Bratislava, Slovakia, from 29 September to 1 October 2015 and from 25 to 27 October 2016. The terms of reference describe the scope of the review and update process; the general and specific tasks to be performed in the process; the stakeholders to be involved; and the frequency with which the activities and tasks are to be performed.
II. Scope
3.Acknowledging the importance of collaboration and information exchange between the experts serving under the various technical and scientific processes under the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions with a view to synergistically addressing cross-cutting issues, in addition to source inventories and release estimates from unintentional production, BAT and BEP relevant to all chemicals listed in the annexes to the Convention are considered as they relate to:
(a)Production of restricted persistent organic pollutants for acceptable purposes as defined in the Convention;
(b)Use of persistent organic pollutants for acceptable purposes and pursuant to specific exemptions as defined in the Convention;
(c)Recycling of articles containing persistent organic pollutants pursuant to specific exemptions as defined in the Convention;
(d)Destruction of persistent organic pollutants and aspects of BAT and BEP relevant to waste management under the Stockholm Convention;
(e)Identification and management of sites contaminated with persistent organic pollutants;
(f)Other technical assessment work relevant to releases from unintentional production and BAT and BEP for the chemicals listed in the Convention as requested by the Conference of the Parties and/or other technical and scientific bodies under the Convention.
A. General tasks
4.Considerable time, effort and funds have been invested in the development of existing guidelines and guidance. These guidelines and guidance have been, and continue to be, useful and informative, and do not require major revision. The focus of the work is therefore on necessary updates and the addition of relevant new information triggered by the listing of new substances in Annexes A, B and/or C to the Convention.
5.The general tasks to be undertaken in the review and updating process are:
(a)Evaluating the implications of the newly listed persistent organic pollutants and assessing the need for developing new guidance to address these chemicals;
(b)Providing information on available alternatives, including home-grown alternatives, and on the use of substitute or modified materials, products and processes and evaluating emerging technologies and improvements to existing technologies;
(c)Exchanging relevant information and harmonizing activities with the work of other technical and scientific bodies under the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions such as the appropriate bodies of the Basel Convention on waste-related aspects and the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee on alternatives to these chemicals;
(d)Optimizing synergies with other efforts, such as those to combat mercury and to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions through BAT and BEP;
(e)Conducting other technical assessment work as requested by the Conference of the Parties and/or other technical and scientific bodies under the Conventions;
(f)Reporting to the Conference of the Parties.
6.The procedures for identifying detailed tasks and activities, to be undertaken as priorities over a set period of time, are outlined below.
B. Stakeholders
7.The existing joint Toolkit and BAT and BEP expert roster will be used.
8.Experts that have served or are serving in the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee will be consulted and involved in the review and updating process as appropriate.
9.Basel Convention experts will be involved in the work related to wastes as appropriate.
10.All experts nominated by Parties and others and included in the joint Toolkit and BAT and BEP expert roster will be involved in the review and updating process, at least by electronic means.
11.The joint roster will remain open at all times for further nominations.
12.Between 25 and 30 nominated experts selected from the roster may be invited by the Secretariat to participate in expert meetings. Participants will be selected taking into account the type of expertise needed at the meetings, in addition to regional and gender balance.
13.Up to five additional experts may be invited to provide specific expertise related to the particular topics to be discussed, if such expertise is not available among the experts included in the roster.
C. Procedures, activities and specific tasks
14.The review and updating process is driven by Parties and organized and facilitated by the Secretariat. Expert panels focusing on a specific source category or task could be established, led by Parties volunteering to do so.
15.Parties and others will be invited to generate relevant data and information to assist in the review and updating process, and to provide that information to the Secretariat.
16.Such data and information will be gathered and summarized regularly by the Secretariat and provided for the experts’ consideration.
17.The experts should perform the following tasks and activities, among others:
(a)Develop a detailed workplan and timetable for the review and updating process;
(b)Set up the necessary organizational structure (such as expert panels);
(c)Identify existing gaps, agree on priorities and propose activities for improvement, taking into account any feedback received from Parties and others based on their experience in using the guidelines and guidance;
(d)Define preliminary outlines for developing new guidelines and guidance as appropriate;
(e)Collect and evaluate relevant data and information within the scope of the review and updating process;
(f)Validate data and information according to agreed data quality criteria9 and draft revised or new texts;9Toolkit for Identification and Quantification of Releases of Dioxins, Furans and Other Unintentional POPs, annex 8: Data Quality. http://toolkit.pops.int/Publish/Annexes/A_08_Annex08.html.
(g)Assess training and capacity-building needs of Parties relevant to their efforts to identify and manage their sources of persistent organic pollutants;
(h)Take into account, in relation to wastes-related matters, the technical guidelines on persistent organic pollutants wastes adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention;
(i)Take into account, in relation to alternatives to persistent organic pollutants, the assessment and guidance developed by the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee;
(j)Exchange any relevant information with other technical or scientific bodies under the Basel and Stockholm conventions;
(k)Respond to inquiries from Parties on technical aspects to facilitate understanding of the guidelines and guidance.
18.Expert meetings will be organized to facilitate the implementation of the activities and tasks outlined above.
19.The guidelines and guidance, as revised or developed by the expert panels, will be circulated to all experts for review and comment before being made available through the clearing‑house mechanism of the Convention. Parties and others will be invited to review and provide comments.
20.The following activities will be further promoted:
(a)Sharing and exchanging of information via the clearing-house mechanism;
(b)Initiatives for data generation and collection, including case studies;
(c)Joint activities and projects between developed and developing countries and South‑South cooperation;
(d)Synergies between activities related to releases from unintentional production and BAT and BEP;
(e)Awareness-raising.
D. Periodicity
21.As new chemicals are listed in the Convention, the guidelines and guidance should be considered as a living document and the process for their review and update should be continuous.
22.Expert meetings should be organized as needed, with at least one meeting taking place every two years. Work should, however, continue intersessionally by electronic means, organized by the expert panel leaders and facilitated by the Secretariat.