United Nations Environment Programme - Stockholm Convention on ...

Table 2:
document.
REGION
Central and Eastern Europe
Comments on the possible future developments of the guidance
CONTRIBUTIONS REGARDING THE PROCESS
OF THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GUIDANCE DOCUMENT
*There was need for more expertise in the EGB, and its use in the region. *The regional distribution
of the expert group was correct, but it however left out some countries with big and diverse industries
like China, India, Brazil, Egypt Algeria and Iran. Their experiences would have been of benefit and
greatly contributed to the guidance document.
*There may be need to engage regional consultants to support the work of the EGB experts. If this
was done on a regional basis then there would be need for allocation of resources to improve
regional intercessional work.
*It may not be reasonable to alter the core EGB experts but these may need to be supported by
experts from the important industrial countries that were not properly represented initially.
*An open ended process could be engaged whereby :
(a). The process could be time constrained and inputs to complete the guidance document would be
presented at a specific COP or
(b). The process could be product constrained in which case there is no time limit in which to
complete the guidance document.
*It may be good for specific deliverables to be targeted for specific COPs.
South Asia Pacific
Central and South East Asia
Group of Latin American
and Caribbean Countries
West Asia
Africa
*There was general agreement that the issues of common interest among Pacific Island Communities
suggested the need for a more targeted document. Proposals included a regional user’s guide as
well as a model action plan. It was suggested that SPREP might coordinate such an effort.
*The use of workshops was applauded, including the conduct of case studies, as an effective means
of educating countries on the use of the draft guidelines.
*Work of the Expert Group:
-Participants acknowledged the contributions by Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand as members of the
Expert Group in disseminating information and providing feedback during the development of the
draft guidelines.
-There was general agreement that, in view of the further work needed; the EGB would need to
continue after COP-1.
-There were some discussion of broadening or rotating membership in the EGB, while maintaining
balanced representation and a transparent process. Participants also stressed, however, the need
for fluency in the working language, familiarity with the technical issues, and experience working
together as a group.
*There was general agreement that the present EGB group of experts should be retained.
*Work of the Expert Group:
-Participants acknowledged the contributions by the EGB in the development of the draft guidelines.
-There was general agreement that, in view of the further work needed; the group would need to
continue after COP-1 to finish the work they started and also tidy, polish and refine the document by
filling in all the gaps.
-There was some discussion of broadening or rotating membership in the EGB. Some countries
preferred the Open-ended Working Group Model where everyone could participate in the process.
Others preferred the creation of a roster of regional experts that could be used by the <strong>Stockholm</strong>
<strong>Convention</strong> Regional Centres to participate in closed working groups.
-Continuing minimization of the unintentionally produced POPs should be viewed as the main
objective of updating the guidance document.
*Draft Guidelines were a good tool, nevertheless further work was needed so as to be adopted at a
future session not beyond COP 2.
*There was general agreement that the review process should involve experts and regulatory
authorities of the different regions.
*Suggestions were made regarding the initiation of a survey to identify the industrial infrastructural
development of each country and the use of abatement technology, so as to update the dioxin/furan,
PCB and HCB source categories.
*There was general agreement that the present EGB group of experts should be retained and
continue after COP-1 to finish the work they started and also tidy, polish and refine the document by
filling in all the gaps.
*The expert group should undertake some case studies to verify application/applicability of the
proposed measures for BAT (e.g. applicability in prevention of agricultural or forest fires and medical
waste).
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