Republic of Yemen /
Project Identifiers
1. Project Number: / 3. GEF Implementing Agency:
United Nations Environment Programme
2. Project Name:
Enabling activities for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs):
National Implementation Plan for Republic of Yemen
4. Country eligibility:
The Republic of Yemen signed the Stockholm Convention on 5.12.2001
5. Country: Republic of Yemen
1. The Endorsement letter was signed by
Dr. Mohamed El-Mashjary, GEF Operational Focal Point, Chairman, Environment Protection Authority (EPA), Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Sana’a, Yemen. P.O. Box 603, Crater Aden, Yemen
(The endorsement letter was signed on 26. 01. 2002)
Summary of Project Objectives, Activities, and Expected Outcomes
7. Project objectives:
Within the overall objective of the Stockholm Convention, which is to protect human health and the environment from POPs, the project will (i) prepare the ground for implementation of the Convention in Republic of Yemen; (ii) assist Republic of Yemen in meeting its reporting and other obligations under the Convention; and (iii) strengthen Republic of Yemen’s national capacity to manage POPs and chemicals generally.
8. Project activities:
The proposed project activities will follow the step-wise process recommended in the GEF “Initial Guidelines for Enabling Activities for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants”.
In summary, these are (i) determination of coordinating mechanisms and organization of process; (ii) establishment of a POPs inventory an assessment of national infrastructure and capacity; (iii) setting of priorities and determination of objectives; (iv) formulation of a National Implementation Plan and specific Action Plans, including Action Plans relevant to requested exemptions under the Stockholm Convention for the limited use of DDT, and Action Plans related to the elimination/reduction of unintentional by-products including PCB’s
(v) endorsement of the National Implementation Plan by stakeholders.
9. Project duration: 2 years
10. Project expected outcomes:
National Implementation Plan for the Stockholm Convention as required by Article 7 of the Convention, including specific Action Plans and strategies as required under Articles 5 and 6 which identify effective national responses, processes and measures that would reduce POPs releases.
11. Estimated total budget : 500,000 US$
12. Amount being requested from the GEF: 470,000 US$
Information on institution submitting project brief
13. Information on the organization in the country submitting the proposal:
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is the lead agency responsible for chemicals management in general and POPs in particular. It chairs the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Chemical Safety and hosts the Stockholm Convention Focal Point
14. Information on the proposed executing organization :
The Environment Protection Authority will be the lead executing organization in collaboration with a multi-stakeholder coordinating committee comprising the Environment Protection Authority, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Ministry of Health and Population, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Electricity and Waters, Customs’ Authority, environmental NGO, Industrial and Commerce Chambers Unions.
The National Focal Point for the Stockholm Convention, Dr. Gamal Allozy, Director General of Environment Protection Authority, Aden Branch, Tel.: +9672 240607, Fax: +9672 240615, email: will serve as Project Coordination Unit
15. Date the proposal was submitted to a GEF Implementing agency: 26.1.2002
16. Date the proposal was submitted to the GEF Secretariat: 5.3.2002
17. Date the proposal was approved:
18. Date of first Disbursement:
Information on Implementing Agency:
19. 19. Implementing Agency :
Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Coordinator, GEF Coordination, UNEP, Nairobi, tel. (254 2) 624 165; fax (254 2) 624 041:
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Project Description
The proposed enabling activities are consistent with the GEF "Initial Guidelines for Enabling Activities for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants" (GEF/C.17/4) approved by the GEF Council, May 2001.
Project objectives
Within the overall objective of the Stockholm Convention, which is to protect human health and the environment from POPs, the project will :
· Prepare the ground for implementation of the Convention in the Republic of Yemen;
· Assist the Republic of Yemen in meeting its reporting and other obligations under the Convention; and
· Strengthen the Republic of Yemen’s national capacity to manage POPs and chemicals generally.
Project outcomes
National Implementation Plan for the Stockholm Convention as required by Article 7 of the Convention, including, specific Action Plans and strategies required under Articles 5 and 6.
· Assessment of national capacity to implement the Stockholm Convention
· Preliminary inventories on POPs
· National Implementation Plan required under Article 7 of the Convention, and specific action Plans and strategies required under Articles 5 and 6
· Strengthen POPs management infrastructure
· Strengthen capacity to meet reporting obligation under the Convention.
Background
In recent years, Yemen has seen a steady development in almost all-economic sectors including agriculture, forestry, fisheries, industry and mining. This has resulted in an increased import and use of chemicals in Yemen, some of which are hazardous and need to be managed in an environmentally sound manner.
Among the negative effects of chemicals are:
· Health and the environment damage and degradation resulting from the uncontrolled use of pesticides, fertilisers in agriculture and public health
· Occupational health problems in industry and increase in transportation and handling involving chemicals leading to emergency situations
· The unsafe disposal of hazardous waste chemicals (including obsolete stocks of pesticides and hospital wastes) leading to serious ground and surface water pollution and contamination
One of the major problems with the management of chemicals in Yemen is the lack of readily available information on their hazardous characteristics.
This project will enhance the capabilities of the Environment Protection Authority and other concerned parties in Yemen to implement national policy and the Stockholm Convention concerned POPs.
This project falls into the National Environment Action Plan for Yemen that aims to achieve sustainable development with equity and the integration of proper management of natural resources into the social and economic development process.
Project Activities
Step I: Determination of co-ordinating mechanisms and organisation of process
· Establishment of the Project Coordination Unit (PCU) within the Environment Protection Authority’s Chemical Unit. The National Project Coordinator is appointed and project team are created. The PCU also serves as the focal unit identified to act as the Stockholm Convention Focal Point (SCFP).
· Determination of multi-stakeholder National Co-ordinating Committee (NCC) based on a stakeholder analysis. The NCC will include but is not limited to the following stakeholders :
-Environment Protection Authority (EPA)
-Ministry of Electricity and Waters
-Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation
-Ministry of Health and Population
-Ministry of Labour, Insurance and Social Affairs
-Ministry of Industry and Trade
-Customs’ Authority
-Industrial and Commerce Chamber’s union
-Environmental NGOs
· Assessment of PCU/SCFP and NCC’s needs and their strengthening by providing information, training, equipment and administrative support.
· Identifying and assigning responsibilities amongst government departments and other stakeholders for the various aspects of POPs management through and inception workshop.
· Organization of a high level workshop attended by representatives of the main stakeholders, for the finalization of workplan and timetable and their endorsement, as well as securing commitment from the major stakeholders involved in the management of POPs.
· Initiation of a communication and awareness raising campaign throughout the country.
Outputs from Step 1
· Project Coordination Unit and National Coordinating Committee are established.
· Stakeholders and their respective responsibilities are identified and commitments from major stakeholders are secured.
· An endorsed workplan and timetable.
· Awareness raising activities are initiated.
Step II: Establishment of a POPs inventory and assessment of infrastructure and capacity
· Identification of government agencies and other institutions with responsibilities for POPs management activities, assessment of effectiveness of existing capacity and preparation of National Profile for chemicals management with emphasis on sections relevant to POPs. Review and endorsement of the National Profile through a national workshop.
· Establishment of an updateable Information System on POPs, integrating the existing databases of relevant departments and institutions that allows rapid access to information and enables the Stockholm Convention Focal Point in Yemen to meet all reporting obligations under the Convention.
· Establish and train as necessary task teams responsible for preparing inventories of various POPs categories and prepare their Terms of Reference. National experts will facilitate this task with the assistance of international expert(s).
· The task teams will hold regular meetings to establish and update the inventory covering:
· Production, distribution, use, import and export of POPs;
· Obsolete POPs stocks, POPs-containing articles in use and contaminated sites;
· Unintentional sources and releases of POPs and estimates of future releases;
· POPs releases into environment and estimates of future releases;
· Assessment of opportunities for disposal of obsolete stocks in accordance with provisions of Article 6 of the Convention;
· Review existing POPs exemptions requested by the Republic of Yemen and assess options for their phasing out;
· POPs presence, levels and trends in humans and the environment;
· Independent review of the inventory by an international expert and validation of the inventory at a national workshop.
· Assessment of institutions to manage POPs including regulatory controls and enforcement capacity to ensure compliance needs and options for strengthening them.
· Assessment of social and economic implications of POPs use and reduction/elimination of use, including assessment of local commercial capacity to distribute alternative technologies and products.
· Assessment of infrastructure capacity, including analytical reference laboratories and monitoring and research and development capacity.
· Identification of POPs related human health and environmental issues of concern in the Republic of Yemen; basic risk assessment to establish a baseline element for the development of relevant actions plans.
Output Step 2
· National Profile on Chemicals Management with emphasis on POPs Management
· National Information System on POPs
· Preliminary national POPs inventory
· Report on Assessment of national POPs management infrastructure and identified capacity building needs
· Report on human health and environmental issues of concern related to POPs in the Republic of Yemen.
Step III: Priority setting and determination of objectives
· Development of criteria for prioritisation by the Focal Unit in close co-operation with the NCC, based on the outputs generated under Step 2 and taking into account, health, environmental and socio-economic impact and the availability of alternative solutions.
· Preparation of a draft of national objectives by the Focal Unit in close cooperation with the NCC. The criteria for prioritisation will be applied to the issues of concern related to POPs that have been identified in order to determine the national objectives.
· The criteria for prioritisation and the national objectives will be reviewed and endorsed through a national workshop attended by various stakeholders.
Output Step III
· Criteria for prioritisation to develop national objectives are determined;
· National objectives in relation to POPs priority issues are determined based on the prioritisation criteria and they are endorsed through a workshop.
Step IV: Formulation of National Implementation Plan and Action Plans on specific POPs
· Identification of POPs management options, including those relevant to the elimination and reduction of the risks to human health and environment.
· Determination of the need for the introduction of alternative technologies specifically for DDT, including any technology transfer requirements; assessment of possibilities for the development indigenous alternatives.
· Evaluation of the costs and benefits of identified management options.
· Based on identification and evaluation of POPs management options define the objectives and anticipated results of the National Implementation Plan (NIP) and prepare the Terms of Reference for the teams tasked with preparing the elements of NIP and specific associated action plans.
· Preparation of a draft NIP that includes priorities and proposed sequencing of implementation and estimated cost of proposed activities, including incremental costs where applicable.
· Establishment of NIP targets and timeframes for their achievement and measurable indicators of success.
· Independent review of draft NIP by an international expert.
· Elaboration of a portfolio of projects for submission to decision-makers and to potential donor bodies.
· Development of a national strategy for information exchange, education, communication and awareness raising, taking into account risk perception of POPs by the public, particularly the least educated.
Output Step 4
· Report on identified and evaluated management options;
· Draft National Implementation Plan;
· Cost estimates of implementation of the National Implementation Plan.
Step V: Endorsement of National Implementation Plan by stakeholders
· Submission of the draft NIP to major stakeholders for comments and suggestions. Review and discussion of the draft NIP at a workshop involving major stakeholders. Revision of the document as necessary and appropriate.
· Preparation of an information document for decision makers, the private sector and public interest groups that includes requests for resources (human, financial, technical, etc.) required for implementation.
· Finalisation of the NIP, its broad dissemination and organisation of workshops to obtain commitment of stakeholders, including decision-makers, to implement the NIP.
Output Step V
· The National Implementation Plan is agreed upon at the highest level and commitments of various stakeholders for its implementation is secured.
Stakeholder identification and participation
The major stakeholders are:
-Environment Protection Authority (EPA) - Ministry of Electricity and Waters
-Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation - Industrial and Commerce Chamber’s union
-Ministry of Health and Population - Customs’ Authority
-Ministry of Industry and Trade - Environmental NGOs
-Ministry of Labour, Insurance and Social Affairs
They will participate through their involvement in the multi-stakeholder National Co-ordination Committee. Representatives of academia and other various sectors of the industry that use, distribute and dispose POPs will also be involved in making decisions and executing the project.
In support of capacity building the task teams will be composed whenever possible from existing specialised institutions/agencies, already appointed by the respective ministries to perform the specific tasks.