HomeFirst Consultation Meeting for the BAT/BEP Forum for the GCC Region, Dubai December 2008

Overview of the National Implementation Plans at individual country levels and identify sectors mentioned in annex C of article 5 of the Convention based on the Dioxins inventory for the industrial sources.

Sector-focused task forces selected upon evaluation of NIPs dioxins inventories and nominations of partnering countries that will be responsible for implementation of a specific action plans at a regional level.

Proposal of a Regional Action Plan to enable task forces develop a full regional strategy to perform the sector studies and mobilize funds for financing and co-financing of the incremental costs associated to the introduction and implementation of the BAT and BEP strategies in the priority industries of the region.

Trust Fund agreement to make funding available for the implementation of the regional action plan. UNIDO has developed a standard trust fund format used by all projects and programs. Countries contributes in cash and in-kind for their projects.

Experts Meeting

First Consultation Meeting for the BAT/BEP Forum for the GCC Region 14-15 December 2008, Dubai-UAE

1. Background information and Objective: Industrialization induces the use of chemicals from as modest quantity for use as a catalyst in process industries, in order to increase efficiency or to add value, to a transformed product to enable market penetration and enhance competitiveness. Some of these chemicals have been extensively used in the rapidly growing economies in populated regions such as Asia and which have resulted in negative social and environment impacts. These adverse impacts need to be examined and solutions to these problems need to be properly addressed. Multilateral environmental agreements have been the environment vehicle for the world, giving guidance and producing guidelines for the reduction and elimination of the harmful effects to health and the environment of these chemicals and their waste stockpiles.

1.1 Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
Studies of some POPs chemicals indicate that eliminating them from production and use leads to flux reductions in the environment and during time reduces their burden in human body. Such an approach has prompted the international action that resulted in the development of the Convention. The actions proposed here relate directly to POPs chemicals produced unintentionally by a wide-range of anthropogenic sources listed in Annex C of the Convention and provide critical information for national planning to meet Convention obligations. Part I of Annex C lists the following unintentionally produced POPs chemicals: Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF); Hexachlorobenzene (HCB)(CAS No: 118-74-1) and Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB).

1.2 Relevance to Industrial Sector Sources
Part II of Annex C lists source categories with the potential for comparatively high formation and release of these chemicals to the environment; while Part III lists further sources that may be important contributors to the total release inventory in a particular country.
Part II: (a)-Waste incinerators, including co-incinerators of municipal, hazardous or medical waste or of sewage sludge, (b) Cement kilns firing hazardous waste, (c) Production of pulp using elemental chlorine or chemicals generating elemental chlorine for bleaching, (d) Thermal processes in the metallurgical industry- secondary copper production, sinter plants in the iron and steel industry, secondary aluminium production, secondary zinc production.
Part III sources of Dioxins and Furans are identified and include: (a) Open burning of waste, including burning of landfill sites; (b) Thermal processes in the metallurgical industry not mentioned in Part II; (c) Residential combustion sources;(d) Fossil fuel-fired utility and industrial boilers;(e) Firing installations for wood and other biomass fuels; (f) Specific chemical production processes releasing unintentionally formed persistent organic pollutants, especially production of chlorophenols and chloranil; (g)Crematoria; (h)Motor vehicles, particularly those burning leaded gasoline; (i) Destruction of animal carcasses; (j)Textile and leather dyeing (with chloranil) and finishing (with alkaline extraction); (k)Shredder plants for the treatment of end of life vehicles; (l) Smoldering of copper cables; (m) and waste oil refineries.

1.3 UNIDO Role on the Implementation of BAT and BEP This would be the first meeting tentatively to establish a technical committee for the future proposed GCC Forum for the promotion of Best Available Techniques (BAT) and Best Environmental Practices (BEP) to eliminate and or reduce the unintentionally produced POPs emissions and releases which would take place in Dubai-UAE during the period of 14 –15 December 2008 and is hosted by Cheikh Zayed Prize. The proposed technical committee is comprised of all POPs focal points of the GCC member countries, UNIDO, Stockholm Convention Secretariat, West Asia Regional Centre for Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs, the bilateral and multilateral donor agencies, academia and regional research institutions and NGOs working on POPs issues. The GCC countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research has been nominated by the Secretariat of Stockholm Convention as the West Asia Regional Centre for Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The centre will assist the Arab countries in West Asia region including the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries meet their obligations towards the implementation of the convention on POPs. The Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting, based in Doha-Qatar, leads close cooperation with UNIDO on POPs and namely on BAT and BEP. It is worthwhile to mention that the PERSGA countries (Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Yemen) have developed a BAT and BEP regional action plan and a medium sized project has been recently approved by the GEF for implementation of the action plan.

2. Outcomes of the First Consultation Meeting