Global Progress on POPs
Although the United States has not ratified the POPs treaty, the number of countries that have formally accepted has steadily grown as have the responsibilities on national governments, civil society and intergovernmental organizations. Since the Treaty came into force on May 17, 2004, the principal decisions have been made through meetings of the Conference of the Parties or “COP.” Parties to the Convention, with the support of NGOs from around the world, have been actively involved in implementation at the local and national levels and in developing rules and procedures to achieve the goals of the convention.
From May 2-6, 2005, the First Conference of the Parties (COP-1) was convened in Punta del Este, Uruguay. This meeting adopted a broad range of decisions required to set the Treaty's implementation in motion. These decisions related to: providing for the evaluation of the continued need by some Parties for DDT for malaria vector control; establishing a review process for specific exemptions; adopting guidance for the financial mechanism; establishing a reporting schedule and a system for evaluating the treaty’s effectiveness; adopting rules of procedure; adopting the budget for the Secretariat; and establishing the membership of the POPs Review Committee (POPRC).
The First Meeting of the POPs Review Committee (POPRC-1) was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from November 7-11, 2005. POPRC-1 considered five chemicals proposed for inclusion in the Treaty and agreed that intersessional working groups would develop risk profiles on these chemicals, to be assessed by the Committee at its second meeting. POPRC-1 also reviewed its role and mandate, and took decisions on several operational issues, including developing procedures for handling confidential information, work plans for intersessional activities, and procedures for inviting additional experts.
The Second Conference of the Parties (COP-2) took place in Geneva, Switzerland from May 1-5, 2006, in Geneva, Switzerland. This meeting adopted a broad range of decisions that developed helped essential details of implementation. These decisions related to: DDT, exemptions, financial resources and mechanisms, information exchange, controls on unintentionally produced POPs; identification and quantification of POP releases, measures to reduce or eliminate releases from wastes; implementation plans; reporting; technical assistance; synergies; effectiveness evaluation; and non-compliance.
From November 6-10, 2006, the Second Meeting of the POPs Review Committee (POPRC-2) convened in Geneva, Switzerland. The Committee adopted the risk profiles for pentabromodiphenyl ether (pentaBDE), chlordecone, hexabromobiphenyl (HBB), lindane, and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and agreed that intersessional working groups would develop draft risk management evaluations for these chemicals to be assessed by the Committee at its third meeting. The Committee also agreed to consider five newly proposed chemicals for inclusion in the Treaty: alpha hexachlorocyclohexane, beta hexachlorocyclohexane, pentachlorobenzene (PeCB), otabromodiphenyl ether (octaBDE) and short-chained chlorinated paraffins, and agreed that intersessional working groups would develop risk profiles on these chemicals to be assessed by the Committee at its third meeting.
The Third Conference of the Parties (COP-3) took place in Dakar, Senegal, from April 30-May 4, 2007. This meeting was convened with three crucial priority areas in mind: technical assistance to adequately enable developing countries; a non-compliance mechanism to provide incentive for compliance with Treaty obligations; and a method to evaluate the effectiveness of implementation. The Conference made much progress on the effectiveness evaluation and technical assistance areas, but issues of non-compliance could not be resolved and will be considered again at the Fourth Conference of the Parties (COP-4). Additionally, COP-3 adopted decisions on: a revised process for the review of entries in the register of specific exemptions; DDT; measures to reduce or eliminate releases from wastes; guidelines on the standardized toolkit for identification and quantification of releases; guidelines on Best Available Techniques (BAT) and draft guidance on Best Environmental Practices (BEP); regional centers; listing chemicals in Annexes A, B or C reporting; effectiveness evaluation; national implementation plans; budget; financial resources; technical assistance; synergies; and non-compliance.
From November 19-23, 2007, the Third Meeting of the POPs Review Committee (POPRC-3) convened in Geneva, Switzerland. The Committee considered five chemicals for the third and final step of the review process, another five entered the second phase, and one new chemical was nominated. The Committee approved the risk management evaluation for five chemicals and recommended that COP-4 consider listing them under Annex A: lindane, chlordecone, hexabromobiphenyl (HBB), pentabromodiphenyl ether (pentaBDE) and under Annex A or B: perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), and its salts and PFOS fluoride.
The Fourth Meeting of the POPs Review Committee (POPRC-4) was held October 13-17, 2008. At this meeting, the Committee is review four more chemicals at the risk management evaluation phase (commercial octabromodiphenyl ether, pentachlorobenzene, alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane and beta-hexachlorocyclohexane) and one chemical at the risk profile phase (short chained chlorinated paraffins), and the EU's resubmitted endosulfan proposal.
From May 4-8, 2009 the Fourth Conference of the Parties (COP-4) took place in Geneva, Switzerland. This is especially significant in that the COP, for the first time, considered recommendations from the POPRC to list new substances to the Stockholm Convention. In addition, there were a number of other issues including synergies between the POPs treaty, the Rotterdam Convention and the Basel Convention; financial resources; the budget of the Secretariat; and non-compliance.