SAICM Enabling Activities

Overview

In February, 2006, the International Conference on Chemicals Management endorsed the Strategic Approach setting the stage for continued assistance to countries to meet the SAICM's 2020 goal of sound chemicals management. UNITAR has adapted its services to countries in order to fully address the outcomes of ICCM.

UNITAR's Chemicals and Waste Management Programme supports capacity building in developing and transition countries in a wide range of SAICM-related areas to protect human health and the environment from toxic chemicals and wastes. This includes:

  • National Chemical Management Profiles—providing guidance, training and technical support to assist countries in assessing their existing legal, institutional, administrative and technical infrastructures for sound chemicals management
  • National SAICM Pilot Projects/Integrated National Programmes for Chemicals and Waste Management—assisting countries to establish and strengthen a collaborative framework at the national level which can provide a foundation for effective and coordinated action to address both national chemicals and waste management priorities as well as the implementation of international chemicals and wastes-related agreements and initiatives
  • Specialised training and capacity building addressing, for example, the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS),Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTR), Risk Management Decision Making, and Stockholm Convention implementation

UNITAR Activities under the SAICM Quick Start Programme

During the SAICM development process, countries indicated that initial “enabling” activities are a priority. UNITAR offers assistance to countries for a variety of identified enabling activities for SAICM. For more information, please click here.

Countries/Entities undertaking UNITAR-supported
SAICM Implementation Activities
 

52 Countries/Entities Funded by SAICM Quick Start Programme Trust Fund to Undertake SAICM Enabling Activities with UNITAR Technical Support

To-date, UNITAR is the international executing agency for projects with 52 countries/entities under the SAICM Quick Start Programme Trust Fund (QSPTF). Many of the projects comprise developing/updating of a National Profile, development of a National SAICM Capacity Assessment, and holding of a National SAICM Priority-Setting Workshop. Other activities, inter alia, include: development of National Chemicals Management Databases, national policies for SAICM implementation, PRTRs, and enabling activities for implementation of the GHS. For more information, please click here.

National SAICM Pilot Projects

UNITAR is executing five in-depth country pilot projects—Belarus, Mongolia, Pakistan, Panama, and Tanzania—over a 3-year period (2006-2009) related to SAICM implementation with financial assistance from the Government of Switzerland, as a contribution to the SAICM Quick Start Programme (QSP). Progress was reported to ICCM-2. For more information, please click here.

SAICM Application Opportunities

UNITAR stands ready to assist countries with proposal development and implementation under the QSPTF. For more information, please click here.

Guidance Materials in Support of SAICM Implementation

To support national SAICM implementation and enabling activities, UNITAR is developing/ revising or already pilot testing a number of key guidance materials, including: Preparing a National Profile to Assess the National Infrastructure for Management of Chemicals; Developing a Capacity Assessment for the Sound Management of Chemicals and National SAICM Implementation (available in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, and Chinese); and Developing and Sustaining an Integrated National Programme for Sound Chemicals Management (which could also form the basis for the development of further guidance for SAICM implementation). Other guidance materials on relevant topics may also be developed. With the input of all other IOMC organizations, UNITAR developed the document on National Implementation of SAICM: A Guide to Resource, Guidance and Training Materials of IOMC Participating Organizations (currently available in English, French, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese).

Further information about these materials will be placed on this website as it becomes available.

National Profile Programme Supports SAICM Implementation

To date, over 100 countries have completed or are developing National Chemicals Management Profiles as a basic tool to assist with achieving sound chemicals management. Consistent with the 2020 goal of SAICM and WSSD, UNITAR assists countries to ensure that National Profiles provide a solid first step in SAICM implementation. To visit the National Profile Programme homepage, please click here.

Strengthening National and Regional Capacities for SAICM Implementation in Central America and the Dominican Republic

UNITAR and USEPA are supporting a project to strengthen capacities in Central American countries and the Dominican Republic to implement SAICM (2008-2010). The project includes three components: (1) mercury management, (2) PRTR design and (3) SAICM implementation. For more information, please click here.

Strengthening the Role of Civil Society in Chemicals Management and National SAICM Implementation

Civil Society are important actors for SAICM implementation. To support engagement of civil society in SAICM implementation, UNITAR is supporting the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) to develop and disseminate SAICM guidance materials for NGOs. And as part of its QSPTF support, UNITAR is also serving as the international executing agency for a civil society project in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Georgia.

Supporting Services for Capacity Building

UNITAR also executes a number of supporting services for capacity building, including the provision of 'virtual libraries' on CD-Rom on a variety of topics (National Profiles, GHS, PRTR) and the organisation of global thematic workshops to facilitate an exchange of experience and to identify practical steps which countries can take to systematically address certain topics of national chemicals management.

The Thematic Workshop on Governance, Civil Society Participation and Strengthening Partnerships for Chemicals and Waste Management and SAICM Implementation was held from 10-21 June 2006 in Geneva, Switzerland, addressed issues related to SAICM, and also served as a major preparatory event for the National SAICM Pilot Projects (see above). Over 100 persons from a wide and diverse range of governments, NGOs, industry groups, IGOs, labour organizations, and academia participated in the workshop. Sponsors and partners for the event included the Government of Switzerland, OPCW, and organizations collaborating in IOMC. For more information, please click here.

SAICM Regional and Other Meetings

The SAICM Secretariat convenes regional and international meetings related to SAICM outcomes and implementation issues. UNITAR has participated at all SAICM meetings to date, including:

  • UNITAR attended the Open-ended Legal and Technical Working Group (OELTWG) and informal discussions at FAO headquarters in Rome, 21-24 October 2008
  • UNITAR participated at the second Central and Eastern European regional meeting on SAICM in Bucharest, 8-9 September 2008
  • A UNITAR side-event entitled "Supporting SAICM Implementation: pilot projects, new guidance materials, and related activities", took place at the 2nd African Regional Meeting on SAICM in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 14-19 June, 2008  Download
  • A UNITAR side-event entitled "Supporting SAICM implementation: Pilot projects, new guidance materials, and related activities" took place at the 14-16 February 2008 Latin American and Caribbean region meeting in Panama City  Download
  • UNITAR attended the EU-JUSSCANNZ countries meeting in Paris on 12 February 2008
  • UNITAR attended the Pacific Island Workshop in Apia, Samoa, on 8-9 November 2007
  • A UNITAR side-event entitled “Supporting SAICM implementation: Pilot projects, new guidance materials, and related activities” took place at the 21-23 May 2007 Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand
    Download
  • UNITAR attended the EU-JUSSCANNZ Meeting in Paris on 12 June 2007
  • A UNITAR side-event entitled “UNITAR Training Methodologies of Relevance to SAICM Enabling Activities" took place at the 1-2 April 2007 Arab Countries Meeting Download
  • A UNITAR side-event entitled “UNITAR Training Methodologies of Relevance to SAICM Enabling Activities” took place at the 4-6 December 2006 Central and Eastern Europe Region Meeting in Riga, Latvia
    Download
  • A UNITAR side-event entitled “UNITAR Training Methodologies of Relevance to SAICM Enabling Activities” took place at the 20-22 November 2006 EU-JUSSCANNZ Countries Meeting in Barcelona, Spain
    Download
  • A UNITAR side-event entitled “UNITAR Training Methodologies of Relevance to SAICM Enabling Activities” took place at the 11-14 September 2006 Africa Region Meeting in Cairo, Egypt Download

Please refer back to this page for further updates.

UNITAR/IOMC and SAICM

UNITAR, as a Participating Organisation in the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC), was a co-convenor of the preparatory committee process leading to the endorsement of SAICM at the International Conference on Chemicals Management ICCM). The IOMC played an important role overall in the process, providing input in particular on available resources of IOMC Participating Organisations (POs); input regarding the development of an overall capacity building strategy for SAICM implementation; and proposals for strengthening information exchange on capacity building.

To access UNITAR and IOMC documentation related to SAICM development, please click here. 

UNITAR Board of Trustees Endorses SAICM

In April, 2006, UNITAR's Board of Trustees officially endorsed SAICM. This will assist with ensuring UNITAR's continued involvement as a partner in the implementation phase of SAICM. Download