CONTENT
TOP

Publications

CAI Newsletter & Brochure

Promote establishment of a collaborative base for environmental cooperation in Asia

Project Name Workshop on Environmental Monitoring of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in East Asian Countries (233KB)
Location East Asian Countries
Project Background The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (hereinafter referred to as the “POPs Convention”) was adopted in 2001 and entered into force in May 2004 with a view to protecting human health and the environment from the adverse effects of POPs including Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) at a global level. Under the Convention, parties are required to restrict the production, etc. of POPs production, as well as to conduct the environmental monitoring at the national and international levels to reveal POPs current status in humans and the environment (Article 11), and evaluate the effectiveness of this Convention based on monitoring data(Article 16).
Objectives For the purpose of establishing a monitoring framework in East Asia based on international cooperation and to implement continuous data collection which contributes to effective evaluation of the POPs Convention, eight workshops have been held since FY 2002.
Member Countries Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam (alphabetical order)
Project Achievements In the second workshop, held in 2003, the implementation of background air monitoring in East Asian subregions from 2004 was approved. Based on the results, Japan has implemented monitoring every year, and plays a role in the technical assistance to other countries. The “Background Air Monitoring of Persistent Organic Pollutants in East Asian Countries (December 2008)” was compiled from the results of the monitoring activities implemented in eight countries in East Asia up to 2006 and submitted to the Convention Secretariat to contribute to the first POPs Convention Effectiveness Evaluation.
Participants of the Eighth Workshop
Participants of the Eighth Workshop
Planned Activities Implementation of the following activities is scheduled under the Workshop on Environmental Monitoring of POPs in East Asian Countries.
  • Continuous monitoring of the persistence of POPs in East Asian Countries
  • Provision of technical guidance relating to sample collection in each participating country every year based on a plan approved in the workshop, so that every East Asian country can carry out every step of monitoring from collecting samples to analyzing them
  • Provision of information on substances newly covered by the Convention and technical assistance for their analyses
  • Formulation of a plan for collecting monitoring data in East Asia countries for the second POPs Convention Effectiveness Evaluation by consulting with participating countries, and facilitation of the implementation of the plan
Project Partners United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP)
North-West Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP)
United Nations University (UNU)