Mobilisation des ressources

Building Capacity Related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements in African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries

In the majority of developing countries, pesticides are widely used for the control of pestsand diseases in agriculture. Unsound chemical management, the use of Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs), the presence of unsafe guarded obsolete stocks of pesticides and the overall poor management of pesticide products pose significant and often unacceptable risks to human healt hand the environment. The project (of which this was the second phase) waspart of the European Commission programme on “Capacity Building related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries”. The second phase of this project aimed to support and strengthen institutional and national capacity building for the synergistic implementation of the target MEA clusters (chemicals/wastesand biodiversity) in African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) countries, and to assist them to meet the objectives of these MEAs.

Réalisations

The project significantly increased technical and institutional capacity, and established collaboration mechanisms, guidelines and tools to implement chemical conventions more effectively. It also achieved tangible progress in building a regional approach to pesticide regulation, thereby strengthening risk assessment procedures in two regions (Africa and the Pacific). In addition, a positive relationship with MEA Secretariats led to significant policy achievements (e.g. the Cancun Declaration). The training opportunities, tools and databases developed and offered by the project had an evident positive impact on working practices and capacities in pesticide registration. Two pilot projects on biodiversity emphasized the importance of weaving synergies within national environmental and agriculture policies, and supported the integration of agricultural considerations into National Biodiversity Action Plans in two countries (Fiji and Kenya). The project greatly contributed to raising the issue of HHPs in the global policy agenda, and it is now recognized as an emerging issue by Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC), and the Global Environmental Fund (GEF). One of the most positive results of the many educational initiatives carried out during the project was the establishment of formal and informal networks of pesticide regulators that can help each other in the true spirit of South-South Cooperation.

Impact

The project contributed to reducing the pesticide risks to public health and the environment, promoting environmental sustainability and halting degradation of biodiversity in ACP countries, by successfully supporting and strengthening institutional, regional collaboration and national capacity building for the synergistic implementation of the target MEA clusters in these countries.

Activités

  • Formal regional committees and regional networks of national authorities responsible for pesticide management established in all three ACP regions, to strengthen the institutional capacity of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to implement chemical-related conventions and international instruments.
  • Four regional guidelines developed and endorsed for the harmonization of pesticide registration for Africa and the Pacific Regional Pesticide Registration Scheme for the Pacific.
  • Pesticide Registration Toolkit developed and launched, and related capacity-building programme undertaken for 157 national authorities from all three ACP regions.
  • Multidisciplinary, postgraduate diploma in Pesticide Risk Reduction (University of Cape Town) developed, in which 27 governmental officers from ministries of agriculture, environment and health graduated, to create a cadre of practitioners with a culture of integration and cross-sectoral collaboration.
  • Support provided for the disposal of over 1 100 tonnes of obsolete pesticides from Africa and the Caribbean, in compliance with the Basel and Stockholm Conventions.
  • Two regional strategies on addressing HHPs in Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and East African Community (EAC) developed.
  • National list of HHPs developed for ten countries, including products listed in the Rotterdam Convention, and risk mitigation actions taken by five countries.
  • Forty-three capacity-building events carried out to build technical skills.
  • Two Technical Guidance Documents on Mainstreaming Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity into Agricultural Production and Management produced.
  • Training manual for farmer groups on agrobiodiversity developed.
  • Over 3 200 beneficiaries (governmental officers, civil society, private sector, farmer associations and rural and mining communities) from 35 countries reached.
  • The project contributed to the preparation of, and dialogues around, the Thirteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 13) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Code du projet FAO: GCP/INT/153/EC
Titre du projet Capacity-building related to multilateral environmental agreements in ACP countries
Contacts: Stefano Mondovi
E-mail: [email protected]
Télécharger PDF: http://www.fao.org/3/CA3573EN/ca3573en.pdf