Number of questions: [4]
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Posted on 12/02/2007 19:21:54 |
Hi Mr Kern,
My name is Maurizio, I'm a graduate student in environmental economics and management, I'd like to know if you are aware of any action program that Indonesian government is tackling in order to reduce water and land contamination due to discharge of chemicals waste coming from furniture production industry and also if they have environmental policy on usage of wood forest.
thanks a lot for your colllaboration, have anice Day!
Maurizio maleddu
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Maurizio Maleddu (from Italy)
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Indonesia has developed a National Profile to Assess the National Infrastructure for Management of Chemicals listing chemical production, import, export and use, as well as priority concerns related to chemical production and use in the different industry sectors. You can access the National Profile as well as additional information on regulations and chemical information through the website of the Directorate General of Chemicals, Agriculture & Forestry Industries, Ministry of Industry and Trade: http://www.dprin.go.id/chemical/default.htm
Information about the National Industrial Development Policy including wood and other forest products is available under Special Links on the website of the Indonesian Ministry of Industry: http://www.dprin.go.id/ENG2006/.
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Posted on 12/02/2007 14:47:05 |
Dr. Kern,
Following the Q&A string with Singapore, can you provide some additional examples of how broader chemicals work has been integrated into the range of GEF Operating Programs and some recommendations, advice and ideas, about how to mainstream assistance requests so that recipients can best realize co-benefits of chemicals specific work or interests across GEF OPs, for instance, with mercury release reductions or as it relates to health and agriculture sector interests? Much appreciated and best regards.
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John Shoaff (from United States of America)
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The GEF Instrument (Article 1, Paragraph 3, as amended in 2004) provides that the agreed incremental costs of activities to achieve global environmental benefits concerning chemicals management as they relate to any of the GEF focal areas shall be eligible for funding. GEF supports improved environmental management of chemicals as a cross-cutting issue that deserves global attention, because chemicals are spread globally through international trade and through emissions to the atmosphere and the oceans, and because chemicals may aggravate global environmental concerns, such as biodiversity, land degradation, climate change and freshwater scarcity.
Some examples:
Agro-forestry projects addressing mainstreaming of biodiversity are concerned with reducing the inputs of chemicals into the systems that they seek to protect. For example, projects dealing with shade-grown coffee or cocoa promote Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and forbid the use of banned chemicals. Agro-forestry practices also reduce the need for synthetic fertilisers. Forest certification schemes typically prohibit the use of the most toxic, persistent and bio-accumulative chemicals.
There is also a close relationship of the Climate Change Focal Area to the cross cutting issue of chemicals management. Incidental health and environmental benefits result from GEF interventions whether energy efficiency, renewable energy, or sustainable transportation - that displace or reduce the combustion of fossil fuels. These incidental benefits may stem from significant reduction in mercury, SO2, NOX, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, etc, that would otherwise have been emitted. Further, a number of energy efficiency interventions address sectors that potentially release relatively large amounts of chemicals in the environment. For example, steel, chemicals manufacturing, cement, pulp and paper, and textiles. Not only are these GEF supported interventions designed to increase energy efficiency in these sectors, they also typically accompany a cleaner production approach that leads to reducing inputs including water, and reducing releases of toxic chemicals in effluents.
In the International Waters Focal Area, a number of past and planned interventions are directly concerned with chemicals management activities, or with the consequences of chemicals mismanagement. In the context of reducing land-based sources of pollution, GEF projects target specific sites of generation, or sectors, such as pesticides misuse in tropical agriculture, toxic contaminants from mining, or industrial pollution discharges. Innovative demonstration projects in the International Waters Focal Area target, amongst other things, on persistent toxic substances, beyond the twelve POPs initially addressed by the Stockholm Convention and the POPs Focal Area. One particular substance highlighted is mercury.
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Posted on 12/02/2007 09:49:51 |
Hi Mr Kern,
The SAICM discussion in Asia will take place very soon. Given Asia's industry and economy, it is an important area with regards tochemicals. Yet, Asia is not quite homogenous in terms of its state of chemicals management. What do you think would be the challenges for GEF(Chemicals) in Asia and are there plans to leverage off the experiences of other better developed Asian countries in order to provide assistance?
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rahiman (from Singapore)
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Under the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Focal Area of GEF, Asian countries focus on emission reduction of unintentionally produced POPs (Dioxins, Furans) from combustion processes, management and disposal of industrial chemicals (PCBs), and the phasing-out of use and production of DDT for vector control. A challenge for GEF will be the application of managerial best practices to chemicals throughout their life-cycle in line with the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). Chemicals management is a cross-cutting issue with relevance also e.g. to climate change, international water contamination, biodiversity and land degradation.
The GEF projects call upon experience and lessons learned in countries of the region when tackling certain aspects of chemicals management, e.g. countries in the South East Asia and Pacific regions are increasingly adopting the use of alternatives to DDT in the control of vector borne diseases such as Malaria, following the example of Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia and lately, Thailand, Solomon Island and Vanuatu where the use of DDT for disease vector control was officially curtailed.
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Posted on 12/02/2007 02:37:44 |
Mr Kern:
How do you do! I'm a student who will reseach Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals . Could you give me some advices about it?
Thank you!
Best wishes to you!
Yours phoenix
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hu phoenix (from China (People's Republic of ))
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The endocrine disruptors are chemicals, both natural and man-made, that can interfere with the hormonal system, e.g. eggshell thinning and altered gonadal development have been observed in birds of prey exposed to DDT, resulting in severe population declines. Another example is described from exposure to organochlorines (PCBs, DDE) showing adverse impact to the reproductive and immune function in Baltic seals, resulting in marked population declines. These seals exhibit a compromised endocrine system, but precise mechanisms of action still remain unclear.
Endocrine disruption is a functional change that may lead to adverse effects to wildlife and human health. Consequently, scientists from different disciplines are involved in research on endocrine disruptors, e.g. endocrinology, toxicology, chemistry, biology.
The International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), a joint programme of the three cooperating UN-Organizations WHO, ILO and UNEP, published in 2002 a global assessment of the state-of-the-science of endocrine disruptors, where you can find more detailed information about this complex issue, please see the respective website: http://www.who.int/ipcs/publications/endocrine_disruptors/endocrine_disruptors/en/index.html.
You can find out more about chemical assessments providing scientific descriptions of the risks of chemical exposure via the IPCS website: http://www.who.int/ipcs/assessment/en/.
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