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Fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (PIC COP-4) 27-31 October 2008 | Rome, Italy   Highlights for Tuesday, 28 October 2008   The fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 4) of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade continued its work on Tuesday, with delegates meeting in plenary and contact groups. In the morning delegates furthered discussions on implementation of the Convention and cooperation between the Rotterdam, Basel and Stockholm Conventions. In the afternoon they dealt with new chemicals for inclusion in Annex III of the Convention. Contact groups on compliance, budget and implementation met throughout the day. Above photo L-R: Osvaldo Alvarez, Chile; Franz Perrez and Paul Garnier, Switzerland, checking if their interventions were reflected in the ENB.

PLENARY:

Above photos L-R: Participants getting a copy of the daily Bulletin; ENB writers Anne Roemer-Mahler and Olivia Pasini handing out the daily Bulletin before the start of plenary.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION: Delegates considered possible procedures to ensure the continued effectiveness of the Convention.

Above photo L-R: Peter Kenmore, Co-Executive Secretary of the Rotterdam Convention (FAO); Bill Murray, Secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention; Andrea Repetti, PIC COP 4 President; and Donald Cooper, Co-Executive Secretary of the Rotterdam Convention (UNEP).

Tamara Soto, Venezuela   Daniel Fantozzi, United States   Boris A. Kurlyandskiy, Russian Federation

M. Khashashneh, Jordan   Gladys Maina, Kenya   Yuri Kundiev, Ukraine

COOPERATION AND COORDINATION BETWEEN THE ROTTERDAM, BASEL AND STOCKHOLM CONVENTIONS:

The three co-chairs of the 45 member Ad-Hoc Joint Working Group on Cooperation and Coordination among the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (AHJWG), reported on the group's work. Above photo L-R: Osvaldo Alvarez, Chile; Kerstin Stendahl, Finland; and Ruisheng Yue, China.

R.H. Khwaja, India   Saulo Arantes Ceolin, Brazil   Pornpimon Chareonsong, Thailand

CONSIDERATION OF CHEMICALS FOR INCLUSION IN ANNEX III OF THE CONVENTION: Delegates addressed the inclusion of new chemicals in Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention. They agreed to include tributyltin compounds but could not reach agreement on chrysotile asbestos and endosulfan.

Above photos L-R: Rocio Alatorre, Mexico; Nayef Al-Tayyar, Kuwait; Adama Cham, the Gambia; Hubert Binga, Gabon.

CONTACT GROUPS:

COMPLIANCE: The compliance contact group, chaired by Denis Langlois, Canada, met early in the morning and addressed outstanding issues on the draft mechanism for non-compliance.

View of the morning session of the compliance contact group.

BUDGET: The budget contact group, chaired by Ositadinma Anaedu, Nigeria, and Paul Garnier, Switzerland, started the consideration of the proposed triennium budget 2009-2011, with a presentation by the Secretariat.

View of the budget contact group in session.   Budget contact group Co-Chairs Paul Garnier, Switzerland, and Ositadinma Anaedu, Nigeria, with Donald Cooper, Co-Executive Secretary of the Rotterdam Convention (UNEP).

IMPLEMENTATION: The contact group on implementation and effectiveness of the Rotterdam Convention, co-chaired by Kateřina Šebková, Czech Republic, and Siti Ibrahim, Malaysia, discussed several proposals on how to address chemicals that meet the Convention’s criteria but for which consensus on their listing in Annex III cannot be achieved.

Above photo L-R: Maria Cristina Cárdenas, Rotterdam Convention Secretariat; Yun Zhou, Rotterdam Convention Secretariat; Co-Chair Kateřina Šebková, Czech Republic; Co-Chair Siti Ibrahim, Malaysia; and Masa Nagai, Rotterdam Convention Secretariat.

ENB SNAPSHOTS:

Above photos: Members of the Rotterdam Convention Alliance (ROCA) demonstrated at the FAO rooftop to raise awareness on the banning of chrysotile asbestos and endosulfan. Photos courtesy of ROCA.

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Related Links Rotterdam Convention (PIC) PIC COP-4 Documents Annotated Agenda Scenario Note UNEP Chemicals UNEP - Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) International Organization for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC) International Programme on Chemical Safety UNITAR Chemicals and Waste Management Programme Stockholm Convention (POPs) Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety Basel Convention Links to IISD RS Resources IISD RS coverage of the PIC COP-3, 9-13 October 2006, Geneva, Switzerland IISD RS coverage of the PIC COP-2, 27-30 September 2005, Rome, Italy IISD RS coverage of the PIC COP-1, 20-24 September 2004, Geneva, Switzerland  IISD RS coverage of the OEWG-2 to Review and Assess Measures to Address the Global Issues on Mercury, 6-10 October 2008, Nairobi, Kenya IISD RS coverage of the OELTWG of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM), 21-24 October 2008, Rome, Italy IISD RS coverage of meetings on Chemicals Management  Chemicals-L - A mailing list for news on chemicals policy issues Linkages Update - Bi-weekly international environment and sustainable development news MEA Bulletin - Newsletter on key MEAs and their secretariats CLIMATE-L - News and information on the actions of international organizations in responding to the problem of global climate change

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