Regional Meeting Series for the Project “Development and Implementation of a Sustainable Management Mechanism for POPs in the Caribbean”

As part of project execution for the regional Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded project, ‘Development and Implementation of a Sustainable Management Mechanism for Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the Caribbean’ (GEF #5558), the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the Caribbean Region (BCRC-Caribbean) hosted a Regional Meeting Series for the project at the Department of Environment’s Conference Room, St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda. The Regional Meeting Series comprised the following meetings:

· Train-the-Trainer Workshop - Inventory and Disposal - May 28, 2018;

· Third Annual Project Steering Committee Meeting - May 29, 2018;

· National Implementation Plan (NIP) Validation Workshop -May 30,2018; and

· Regional Legal Stakeholders Workshop: Towards a Model Legal Framework for Chemicals Management - May 31, 2018

In attendance (physically or virtually) at the Meetings were the Chairpersons of the Project Working Committees (PWCs), National Project Coordinators (NPCs), or a designated country representative, as well as legal officers, solid waste management technicians, and representatives of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the BCRC-Caribbean.

The Train-the-Trainer Workshop was geared towards waste management technicians around the region, and there was national representation from the Trinidad and Tobago Solid Waste Management Authority (SWMCOL) and the Environmental Management Authority (EMA). The three (3) other meetings were attended by the EMA and the Ministry of Planning and Development’s Waste Management Specialist, Ms. Keima Gardiner, who also serves as the Chair of the PWC for Trinidad and Tobago.

The Third Annual Project Steering Committee Meeting had as an objective, the review of the project status for Years 1 and 2, as well as the upcoming work programmes for Year 3. The NIP Validation Workshop was designed to validate and endorse the draft final NIPs, as well as to outline the strategies for the endorsement of the NIPs at the national levels. The First Regional Legal Stakeholders Workshop aimed to present the overall findings and recommendations for a Draft Regional Chemicals Regulatory Framework for the participating countries. Collectively, these meetings sought to help fulfill the objectives of the project which is to reduce and/or eliminate the threat of POPs within the context and realities of the eight (8) Caribbean countries, including Trinidad and Tobago.