Pops Enabling Activities for the Arab Republic of Egypt

POPs enabling activities for the Arab Republic of Egypt

UNIDO Proposal (REVISION: 08 Aug 02)

Project Summary

1. Allow Egypt to meet its reporting obligations under the Stockholm Convention;
2. Prepare the ground for the implementation of the Stockholm Convention in Egypt;
3. Strengthen national capacity to manage POPs and strengthen chemicals management capacity in general;
4. Maximize government commitment and facilitate the ratification of the Stockholm Convention.

• Undertake preliminary inventories of sources and emissions of POPs listed in Annexes A and B to the Convention.
• Develop an Action Plan for the 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 of POPs chemicals, an assessment of enforcement capacity and adequacy of laws and policies to meet the obligation of reduction of by-products under the Convention. Strategies to meet these obligations have to be developed.
• Build capacity to report every five years on progress in phasing out PCBs as described in Annex I part II of the Convention;
• Prepare a preliminary assessment of stockpiles of POPs and of waste products contaminated with POPs, and identify management options, including opportunities for disposal; as described in Article 6 of the Convention;
• Build capacity to report to the Conference of the Parties (COP) on total production, import and export, as per Article 15 of the Convention;
• Build capacity to assess the need of continuation of specific exemptions and preparation of their reporting/extension;
• Build capacity to identify sites contaminated by POPs; and
• Support communication, information exchange, and awareness raising through multi-stakeholder participatory processes, as described in Articles 9 and 10.

1. Mr. Zoltan Csizer

Project Description

The project description serves to explain how the project will be executed based on discussions held between Government officials from the Ministry of Health and Population, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA). This narrative part describes the context in which the step-wise process of activities will be carried out and is elaborated in the GEF Initial Guidelines (GEF/C.17/4), Annex B, takes place.

Its structure is as follows: A brief background establishes the environmental setting of Egypt and is followed by the project objective. The activities are grouped to describe the existing situation in Egypt 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 National Implementation Plan. 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, the establishment of POPs inventories and the assessment of national infrastructure and capacity; the setting of priorities and the determination of objectives for POPs management; the formulation of a National Implementation Plan. The social aspect relates to issues of stakeholder identification and participation, information dissemination, and social and participation issues.

The Annexes are attached for a more detailed background on Egypt’s situation with regard to POPs. Annex 1 provides a summary of the capacity of the Executing Agency. Annex 2 provides a detailed description of the status of the 12 POPs in Egypt, 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.

The 1997-2017 Plan prepared by the Cabinet of Ministers clearly underlines the ultimate goal of “attaining development that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.” Some of the environmental priorities described in the summary profile of initiatives, 2000-2001, by the Minister of State for Environmental Affairs are directly relevant to the Stockholm Convention on POPs such as:

• Domestic solid waste is generated at a rate of 15 million tons annually – 75 percent of which originate from urban areas. In addition, agricultural waste amounts to 24 million tons per year, and 50,000 tons of hazardous industrial waste are generated each year. Hospital waste ranges from 86.5 to 185.5 tons per day depending on hospital occupancy.

• Air pollution is attributable to industrial emissions, vehicle emissions, and the burning of solid waste.

Egypt is a signatory to 64 International Conventions and Agreements in the environment field, with the Rotterdam and Basel Conventions being included.

Project Objective(s)

The objective of this Enabling Activities proposal is to develop and formulate a National Implementation Plan (NIP) and thereby strengthen national capacity and enhance knowledge and understanding amongst decision makers, managers, the industry, agriculture and the public at large on POPs. By achieving this objective Egypt will be prepared and able to meet its obligations under the Stockholm Convention on POPs.

Project Activities

Coordination and organization of the NIP development process

The Government of Egypt has nominated the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) as Executing Agency and Focal Point for this enabling activities project. A detailed description of the EEAA is given in Annex 1.

Throughout the project life of two years, there will be a National Project Coordination Unit (NPCU), which reports to the Executing Agency and works for the project full-time. A Chief Technical Advisor (CTA), who reports to UNIDO and works for the project part-time will also be appointed. The CTA will monitor the NIP development in other neighbouring countries and thereby provide for an exchange of experience and expertise between these selected countries. The CTA will be technically qualified to monitor the project execution. The NPCU will ensure adherence to the work plan, which will be elaborated during the first phase of the project. Its main responsibilities will include advising on and monitoring of all technical aspects as well as the financial control of the project execution. The NPCU will work in close co-operation with the CTA.

In Egypt, a new Steering Committee will be established for the development and formulation of the NIP. The Committee will have representation from the following entities: the Ministry of Labour and Immigration, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health and Population, the Ministry of Industry, the Investment Authority, the Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, the Ministry of the Interior, the Industrial Federation and a well-known NGO. The Committee will have meetings on a regular quarterly basis and discuss issues related to POPs, such as new draft legislation, action plans on the storage, use and handling of POPs chemicals, waste management, etc. The Committee will serve as the forum where all stakeholders, ministries, associations, NGOs, private sector representatives, etc. will have their say.

The Committee is responsible for providing directions, monitoring and evaluating the work of the Executing Agency. The Steering Committee will review, comment on and approve the work plan. Strong emphasis will be put on private sector and civil society involvement during project execution. All decisions of the Committee, such as respective responsibilities, timelines and the budget (based on the tenders) will be clearly communicated to the concerned parties. Activities, which require expertise not available at the Executing Agency, will be implemented through sub-contracts. Tenders will be published in the Official Gazette. Submitted tenders will be reviewed and evaluated by the Steering Committee based on an evaluation system, which will be prepared by the Committee. It will include the review of all applicants’ levels of expertise, human and financial resources and previous work done in this field.

The monitoring of project execution will be undertaken by the CTA and UNIDO by means of quarterly progress reports. UNIDO will organize a mid-term evaluation of the project in line with GEF guidelines at the end of the first year. It will evaluate the efficiency of the project management, including outcomes, the budget and timelines. The Steering Committee will receive the evaluation and will take corrective measures, where necessary.

Inventories and assessments

The Project Team, consisting of the NPCU and the CTA, will be responsible for the setting up of task teams. These task teams will receive extensive training on how to identify stocks and contaminated sites as well as on inventory procedures. The training will mainly focus on DDT stockpiles, PCB contamination, and PCDD/Fs emission control techniques. Technical Reports will be prepared, which contain detailed information on the present state of the particular field of POPs under scrutiny. The following expertise is required for undertaking the POPs-related inventories and assessments:

1. Research Team for retrieving information from authorities such as the Central Statistical Offices (CSO), governorates’ environment experts, relevant ministries, key industrial enterprises, NGOs and universities. The team will be responsible for undertaking inventories of export, import, use and distribution on pesticides and PCBs.
2. Emission Expert Team for inventories of PCBs, PCDD/Fs and HCB releases into the environment.
3. Contamination Expert Team for assessing contaminated sites, obsolete stocks and disposal opportunities. In order to ensure optimal coordination one Research Team member will always participate in this team.
4. Institutional Expert Team for assessing infrastructure, enforcement, monitoring and R&D capacities.
5. Health Expert Team for assessing the population’s exposure to POPs.

The immediate objectives of the task teams will be to:

• Identify the main locations where POPs are emitted and used;
• Assess knowledge, attitudes and practices of industry in general with regard to POPs handling, storage and application;
• Identify main uses and quantities of POPs, which have been prohibited and develop alternatives (e.g. waste transformer oils);
• Create awareness among decision makers, managers, the industry, end-users and the general public on POPs so as to facilitate the identification of alternative chemicals (substitutes), and to provide formal and on-the-job training, where needed. This can best be achieved by making use of mass media such as the TV, the radio and the Press.

At the end of the project, all action plans and strategy papers prepared for the National Implementation
Plan will be available at the focal point, which will serve as a National Information Centre on POPs, and can be accessed by the public.

Priorities and objectives for POPs management

The current status of POPs pesticides, industrial chemicals and unintended by-products in Egypt is reflected in the following table:

Based on discussions with the primary stakeholders the following concerns could be identified at this early stage of analysis:

• Present legislation on import/export monitoring and enforcement not updated according to the Stockholm Convention.
• Obsolete stocks of PCBs, DDT and other pesticides. Safe storage, disposal and re-use of contaminated items are important.
• Alternative chemicals are being researched and need further analysis.
• Lack of information on polluted or contaminated sites; Action plan for improved inventories required.
• Lack of public awareness results in inadequate waste management, therefore, public awareness has to be promoted and a new philosophy has to be introduced for waste management.

A National Chemical Profile has been prepared by the EEAA in 1999. However, it does not specifically address the issue of POPs. Alexandria has done preliminary work on establishing a PRTR for its governorate. This will be closely followed when establishing the PRTR for the whole Egypt.

Egypt’s national policy for chemical management includes:

• Controlling hazardous substances at the various stages of their life cycle to be regulated by adequate legal instruments covering importation, transportation, storage, as well as waste disposal.
• Cooperation and coordination among the various ministries and agencies.
• Legal instruments including guidelines developed on realistic basis suitable for the local situation.
• Chemical risk communication necessitates harmonized classification and labelling of chemicals, which facilitates information exchange on toxic chemicals and chemical risks among agencies and between national and international agencies.
• Environmentally safe and sound methodology for the reduction and control of chemical risks are needed including the possible development of non-toxic alternatives.
• National programme for increasing awareness of potential chemical hazards among workers and the public.
• Preparation of an inventory of chemicals in use in Egypt.
• National plan for the prevention of illegally imported hazardous substances.
• Cooperation between the different ministries on the control and prevention of illegal international traffic in toxic and dangerous goods.

Formulation of the NIP

The NIP and its action plans will be based on the findings of the assessment 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 risks. Despite the fact that a detailed analysis of existing problems and potential solutions will be made – during a planning workshop – there are certain actions, which can already be identified to be undertaken in the framework of the NIP: