Agency’s Project ID: GF/ANG/07/XXX
GEFSEC Project ID: 3568
Country: The Republic of Angola
Country Eligibility: The Republic of Angola accessed the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants on 28 April 2006
Project Title: Enabling activities to facilitate early action on the implementation of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in Angola
GEF Agency: UNIDO
Other Executing Agency(ies): The Ministry of Urbanism and Environment of Angola
Duration: 2 years
GEF Focal Area: Persistent Organic Pollutants
GEF Operational Program: OP#14
GEF Strategic Priority:
Estimated Starting Date: June 2008
IA Fee: US$ 49,948
Financing Plan (US$)GEF Project/Component
Project / 471,600
Sub-Total GEF
/ 471,600Co-financing
GEF Agency (UNIDO) / 20,000National Contribution / 116,000
Others
Sub-Total Co-financing: / 136,000
Total Project Financing: / 607,600
Record of endorsement on behalf of the Government:
Mr. Armindo Mário Gomes da SilvaGEF Focal Point
Ministry of Energy and Water
Angola / Date: 23 March 2007
popS ENABLING ACTIVITY
pROPOSAL FOR gef FUNDING FOR National Implementation Plan on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
1. Project objectives:
The objective of this Enabling Activities proposal is to strengthen national capacity and to enhance knowledge and understanding amongst decision makers, managers, the industry, the academia, the green NGOs and the public at large on POPs to develop and formulate a National Implementation Plan (NIP) pursuant to Article 7 of the Convention. By achieving this objective Angola will meet the obligations of the Stockholm Convention and be enabled to manage the reduction/elimination of POPs within the overreaching framework of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) adopted by the international community in February 2006 as a global core element to implement Chapter 19 of Agenda 21.
2. Project activities:
Annex B to the Guidelines for Enabling Activities for the Stockholm Convention on POPs recommends a step-wise process to be followed in developing and formulating the NIP. These five steps are detailed by a sequence of activities. The main activities, which will be performed by Angola, are to:
· Identify participant stakeholders from the public sector and the civil society as well, set up institutional arrangements, define their roles and assign them responsibilities in view of the implementation;
· Undertake preliminary national inventories of sources and releases of POPs listed in Annexes A, B and C to the Convention;
· Develop an Action Plan for the regular monitoring and reduction of releases of unintentional by-products; Article 5 of the Convention outlines some of the elements that should be included in this plan such as an inventory of current and projected releases, an assessment of enforcement capacity and adequacy of laws and policies to meet the obligations of by-products reduction of the Convention, and strategies to meet these obligations. Information, sensitisation, education and training are core activities suggested by the Convention;
· Build capacity and develop an Action Plan to report every five years on progress in phasing out PCBs as described in Annex I part II of the Convention under Article 3;
· Prepare a preliminary assessment of stockpiles of POPs and of waste products contaminated with POPs pursuant to Article 6, and identify management options, including opportunities for disposal;
· Build capacity to enable the National Executing Agency (NEA) to organize and coordinate the project, which includes human resource development, training programs, equipments, etc.
· Build capacity to report to the Conference of the Parties (COP) on total production, import and export and to participate to the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Convention, as per its Articles 15 and 16;
· Build capacity to assess the exposure of the human population and the environment to POPs;
· Build capacity to assess the need of continuation of specific exemptions and preparation of their reporting/extension as required under Article 4 of the Convention;
· Build capacity to identify sites contaminated by POPs;
· Support communication, information exchange, and raising awareness through multi-stakeholder participatory processes, as described in Articles 9 and 10; and
· Build capacity to undertake applied research to monitor POPs, identify and promote safer alternatives, locally suitable environmentally sound techniques for POPs disposal (Article 11), best available techniques (BAT) and best environmental practices (BEP) pursuant to Article 5.
3. Project Duration: 2 years
4. Project expected outcomes:
The main outcome of this project will be the NIP, which will have been developed and formulated by following the stepwise process (Setting up of institutional arrangements and organizing the process; National situation analysis through preliminary inventories of POPs and updating of the chemical Profile; Priorities setting and identification of the national objectives; Preparation of specific Action Plans and Strategies and Formulation of the NIP; Nation Endorsement of the NIP) and appropriate activities. Additional expected outcomes are: availability of educated and skilled nationals in POPs; updated national chemical profile; and enhanced knowledge of the POPs issue in the country.
5. Estimated total budget: US$ 607,600
6. Amount being requested from the GEF: US$ 471,600
Information on institution submitting project brief
7. Information on the organization in the country submitting the proposal:
The Ministry of Urbanism and Environment through the Department of Natural Resources (DoNR) will be the NEA of this Enabling Activities Project. DoNR has also been selected as the POPs Focal Point. Based on the review of the POPs-related monitoring, research & development activities, and legal aspects, this department, which has been organizing and overseeing the activities within the framework of the Convention beginning from negotiation of the Convention by the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee through the Diplomatic Conference and the initiation of the proposed project has the requested pre-requisite and background on the POPs issue that make it best suited for undertaking the key activities described in this Enabling Activities Project. DoNR has also been designated by the government to participate in a Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional project on PCBs. DoNR is also in charge of the Convention on Biodiversity which has a synergy point with the Stockholm Convention regarding bush and forest fires leading to lost of biodiversity and emission of unintentional POPs. As it is highlighted in the project document, capacity building in terms of human resource, equipments, and training is necessary to safeguard the execution of the NIP development process.
Detailed information on the NEA is attached as Annex 1.
8. Information on the proposed executing organization (if different from above. The grant has to be executed by an organization in the requesting country):
9. Date the proposal was submitted to a GEF Implementing/Executing Agency: 20 May 2006
10. Date the proposal was submitted to the GEF Secretariat: 8 January 2008; resubmitted: 20 March 2008
11. Date the proposal was approved:
12. Date of first Disbursement
Project Description
1. The project description serves to explain how the project will be executed based on discussions held with Government officials and actors from the civil society, including green NGOs, industrial sector and academia. This narrative part attempts to describe the context in which the step-wise process of activities, which is elaborated in the GEF Initial Guidelines (GEF/C.17/4), Annex B, takes place.
2. Its structure is as follows: A brief background establishes the environmental setting of Angola and is followed by the project objective. The activities are grouped to describe the existing situation in the country in terms of the managerial, technical and social infrastructure that is in place, or intended to be put in place, for the preparation of the NIP. The managerial aspect includes the discussion of the project implementation structure as well as the coordination and organization of the NIP development process. The technical aspect includes three activities, namely (i) the establishment of POPs inventories and the assessment of national infrastructure and capacity; (ii) the setting of priorities and the determination of objectives for POPs management; and (iii) the formulation of a NIP. The social aspect relates to issues of stakeholders identification and participation, information dissemination, and social and participation issues.
3. The Annexes are attached for a more detailed background on Angola’s situation with regard to POPs. Annex 1 provides a summary of the capacity of the NEA. Annex 2 provides a detailed description of the status of the 12 POPs in Angola, and Annex 3 gives a work plan, which follows the suggested sequence of activities attached to GEF’s Guidelines, and provides the basis for the given budget.
Background
4. With full support for the Stockholm Convention, Angola expressed its commitment to protect human health and the environment through the reduction and/or elimination of POP substances. The current legislation, monitoring, and enforcement system will be strengthened throughout the project. There are many PCB containing electrical transformers and capacitors that are still operating and the heavy use of POP pesticides during the last decades hypothesizes serious environmental contamination. Due to the un-assessed but apparent existence of obsolete stocks, eco-friendly disposal opportunities will also be elaborated in details during the NIP development process. Identification, assessment and prioritization of sites potentially contaminated by POPs will also be addressed as a matter of priority. The Project will concentrate effort to strengthen and enhance communication, education, information exchange, and co-operation among the different parties involved, i.e. entities from governmental and non-governmental, academic and private sectors.
5. The Project will facilitate the incorporating process of POPs-related issues in the general planning and formulation of national strategies for public health protection and poverty reduction as well, not only as a duty but also as an opportunity to use new technologies and win-win strategies. By achieving this purpose, the project will represent an effective opportunity to promote the need for including chemical safety issue in general in the planning of the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals as strongly recommended by the International Community pursuant to the Johannesburg Action Plan in 2002 and through the adoption of the SAICM in February 2006.
6. Angola is shortly going to participate in a sub regional project for Southern African Development Community countries on the inventory of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are listed under Annex A of the Stockholm Convention as one group of POP industrial products. Unintentional industrial and municipal POPs emission sources have not yet been monitored, and no POP pesticides inventory has been made either. Therefore new monitoring and assessment methods need to be introduced, along with emission standards. In this aspect strong emphasis will be laid on capacity building and training in the DoNR to have the necessary technical expertise, managerial skills, and capability to constitute and oversee specialized technical teams, which are going to be in charge of performing all scientific and technical activities throughout the implementation of the project including: initial POPs inventories taking and chemical profile updating; priorities setting and national objectives identification; action plans preparation and final formulation of draft NIP.
7. In 1996, Angola has prepared the first version of the country’s profile for sound chemicals management, which needs updating within the framework of this project not only to take into account the POPs issue but also to integrate relevant recent international policies and agreements like: the New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD), the Millennium Development Goals, the Johannesburg Action Plan, and the SAICM.
8. To comply with the requirements of the Stockholm Convention the following constrains need to be addressed as a matter of priority:
· Currently, POP by-products listed in Annex C to the Convention have not been monitored; neither has been a comprehensive survey undertaken to assess the current state of pollution;
· Lack of action plan for the disposal of obsolete stocks;
· Lack of emission limit values and inventory procedures;
· Lack of an integrated waste management system, including the storage, collection, transport and disposal of hazardous wastes;
· Lack of the promotion of the industries to introduce BAT and BEP;
· Lack of institutional arrangement, standards and procedures in the registration procedures of new chemicals and pesticides to screen their persistence, bioaccumulation, adverse effects and potential for long-range transport;
· Lack of the promotion of research and development;
· Lack of public awareness on POPs.
9. Angola has currently no accredited laboratory, which has the necessary facilities to undertake PCBs and pesticides, dioxin and furan analysis. However, this is not a matter of great concern for the implementation of the enabling activities since inventorying methodologies, which are going to be adopted by the country, will not require any prior chemical analysis. If required, samples will be sent for analysis to the most appropriate laboratory in the region.
10. The NIP and its action plans will be based on the findings of the assessments and inventory reports. Relevant international management options will be reviewed for the selection of the most appropriate alternatives. The intention is to identify those management options which can be implemented using existing management systems or which need little adjustments in the present legislation. Strong cooperation is necessary between experts, the relevant ministries and civil groups for reducing the risks. Reviewing the present state of POPs in Angola, the following actions will be required as part of the NIP to address identified concerns:
· Update present regulatory and assessment schemes for pesticides and industrial chemicals with the aim of preventing the use of chemicals that exhibit the characteristics of POPs;
· Develop legal and administrative measures that intentional POP chemicals are
o imported only for the purpose of environmentally safe disposal;
o exported for the purpose of environmentally safe disposal or to a state that is permitted to use that chemical;
· Prepare a legal framework for the requirements of the annual certification listed in Article 3, paragraph (b) (iii) to the Convention,