Article
16 of the Stockholm Convention on POPs requires the Conference of the
Parties to perform an effectiveness evaluation starting four years after
entry into force of the Convention and then at periodic intervals. In
order to facilitate the evaluation the Conference of Parties will initiate
the establishment of arrangements to provide itself with comparable
monitoring data on the presence of the chemicals under the Convention as
well as their regional and global environmental transport. Such
arrangements should be implemented on a regional basis when appropriate.
At the request of the POPs Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee UNEP Chemicals has launched a POPs Global Monitoring Programme. The programme is intended to form a basis for the effectiveness evaluation of the Stockholm Convention. Activities will include developing guidance on sampling and analysis of POPs, QA/QC procedures, data treatment and communication and data assessment. In addition the programme will include an electronic discussion group on POPs monitoring issues where existing programs and laboratories are invited to participate and share their experience on this subject.
The programme will focus on the twelve POPs subject of the Stockholm Convention. It will be designed to accommodate other substances that in the future might be included in the Stockholm Convention as agreed by the Conference of the Parties.
The web site also contains information on national, regional and international monitoring programmes that are involved with chemical analyses of POPs. Through this site programmes and monitoring activities that are not listed can directly sign in and become active members of the programme.
Workshop
to Develop a Global POPs Monitoring Programme
Discussion
Groups
International
and Regional Monitoring Activities
National
Monitoring Programmes
Sample
Banks
EXICHEM
IPCS
INCHEM on the WEB
Regionally
based assessment of Persistent Toxic Substances (PTS)
UNEP
POPs
Links
and Documents
Global POPs laboratory inventory
Guidance document for Global POPs Monitoring