Since 2005, UNEP has implemented a series of projects in partnership with the Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention and with support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and other donors. These projects have helped countries generate high-quality data on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in people and the environment while strengthening monitoring and laboratory capacities worldwide.
2026-2031: Global Chemicals Monitoring Programme (GCMP)
Building on previous achievements, the Global Chemicals Monitoring Programme (GCMP) is a global initiative led by UNEP funded by the GEF that integrates for the first time mercury monitoring alongside POPs. The programme is being implemented through a Global Coordination Project and five Regional Child Projects across Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands, Latin America, and the Caribbean, covering over 50 countries. The programme supports the implementation of the Stockholm Convention on POPs and the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
2016-2023: UNEP Global monitoring plan implementation phase two (GMP2)
Four regional projects were implemented with the assistance of GEF funds and substantial co-financing from participating countries, institutions, universities and the BRS Secretariat in 42 countries in the Africa, Asia, Pacific Islands and Latin America and the Caribbean regions. Analysis includes the 12 initial POPs and the 14 new POPs that were adopted between the 2009 and 2015. On a voluntary basis, all POPs added after 2015 were also analysed. The matrix "water" is included for the first time. More information in the GMP2 project brochure in the interactive dashboard and in the sectoral, regional and overview reports.
2012-2015: Development of tools and methods to analyse new POPs
At the fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention in May 2009, nine new POPs were listed into the annexes A, B or C of the Convention and an updating of the guidance for the GMP was requested. In response UNEP Chemicals and Health Branch, together with partners, implemented the project to assist the Stockholm Convention Secretariat and the Parties in developing training material and guidance documents and Guidance on the global monitoring plan for persistent organic pollutants (February 2015)
2008-2011: UNEP Global monitoring plan implementation phase one (GMP1)
Projects financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) were implemented to build regional capacity on analysis and data generation for POPs concentration measurement in two core matrices (air and human milk). Their common goal was to enable the participating 32 countries of four regions - Eastern and Southern Africa, West Africa, GRULAC and Pacific Islands States - to contribute to the global monitoring report submitted to the Conference of the Parties of the Stockholm Convention. These projects enabled the production of high-quality data on human exposure and environmental concentration of the 12 initial POPs listed in the Convention. The presence of various POPs in human milk and in air was confirmed across countries and regions. PCBs and DDT have the highest concentrations in human milk, generally far above WHO safety levels. Pesticides could be detected at significant levels in most air sampled sites, with DDT and Drins among the highest. Results varied considerably across countries.
2005-2007: Pilot project
Lack of analytical capacity in developing countries and access to POPs laboratories is considered one of the crucial issues for countries to fulfil their obligations under the Stockholm Convention. The pilot project was implemented to assess the existing capacity worldwide and the capacity building needs in developing countries to analyse POPs. The main outcomes are the development of the POPs laboratory Databank and the identification of criteria to sample and analyse POPs as well as criteria to define operational POPs laboratories.
