The Regional Preparatory
Meeting for the 2019 Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions Conference of
the Parties (COPs) was held in Montevideo, Uruguay from March 27th-30th,
2019. Trinidad and Tobago participated as a Party to the three (3) multilateral
environmental agreements in the chemicals and waste cluster: the Basel,
Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, which are commonly referred to as the BRS
Conventions. The country was represented by Ms. Keima Gardiner, Waste
Management Specialist, Multilateral Environmental Agreements Unit,
Environmental Policy and Planning Division, Ministry of Planning and
Development. The Ministry of Planning and Development serves as the Focal Point
to these Conventions.
The
aim of the regional preparatory meeting was to provide the GRULAC Parties with an opportunity to consult with each other in
advance of the meetings of the triple BRS COPs, identify regional priorities
and challenges, consider meeting documents and discuss substantive matters with
an aim of arriving at regional positions in advance of the COPs.
The meeting was attended
by a total of ninety-one (91)
participants, including sixty (60) representatives from twenty-six (26) Group
of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC) countries. The agenda of
the Preparatory Meeting comprised of a three (3) day session on a range of
topics, inclusive of a small
ceremony to commemorate the thirtieth (30th) anniversary of the Basel
Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste and their
Disposal.
Under the joint BRS session, the main topics of discussion were on
technical assistance and the Basel and Stockholm Convention Regional Centres,
of which Trinidad and Tobago is the host country for the Basel Convention Regional
Centre for the Caribbean region. Discussions also centred on the two (2)
chemicals under consideration for listing to the Stockholm Convention on
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs); PFOA, its salts and PFOA-related
compounds, and dicofol, and those proposed for listing under the Rotterdam
Convention, namely: acetochlor, hexabromocyclododecane, phorate, carbosulfan,
chrysotile asbestos, fenthion and paraquat formulations. Under the Basel
Convention, the key issues related to marine litter and plastic waste, household waste, the technical guidelines
on POPs, e-wastes, mercury wastes and landfills, and the Ban Amendment which was established to prevent disposal of hazardous wastes in
specified territories.
There
was a also a Gender Training Workshop and an Information Session on the
Minamata Convention on Mercury, held in conjunction with the preparatory
meeting. The objective of the interactive Gender Training Workshop was to improve
understanding of gender, promote mainstreaming and describe how it contributes
to the sound management of chemicals and waste, as well as to catalyse
implementation of the BRS Gender Action Plan. During the information session on
the Minamata Convention on Mercury participants were apprised about the
emerging technical, policy and financial issues under the Minamata Convention.
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| Ms. Keima Gardiner - T&T's representative at the 2019 GRULAC Preparatory Meeting |
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| GRULAC Delegates at the Regional Preparatory Meeting |
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| The Caribbean Contingent at the GRULAC Preparotory Meeting - Ms Keima Gardiner (2nd from right) |
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