Date: 28.09.2020 Place: ZOOM (online) No. of Participants: 25 Presenters:
Suzana Andonova, Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning/POPs Unit
Aleksandar Mickovski, Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning/POPs Unit
Lendita Dika, State Advisor, Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning
Ana Karanfilovska, Head of Department for Waste Management, Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning
Emilija Kjupeva, Head of Division on chemicals and industrial chemicals
Fana Hristovska, National expert on legal issues
Marjan Mihajlov, National expert on institutional issues
In spite of the global pandemic, the first event took place online on the 28.09.2020, aiming at introducing all nominated representatives from the relevant institutions on the four international agreements (Stockholm, Rotterdam, Basel and Minamata Convention) and SAICM, including the projects related to these agreements that have already been implemented. Additionally, the national consultants on legal and institutional issues have shared with the participants the necessity and goals of forming working group, having them as members. Following a short discussion, participants reached an agreement on the next steps in order to commence the planned working activities.
Financed by: Global Enviroment Facility Implementation Agency: UNEP Implementation Partner: Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning / POPs Unit Budget: Approved: Launched: February, 2016 Duration of Project: 24 Months
As part of the obligation of the Republic of North Macedonia towards the Minamata Convention for Mercury, a project suggestion was drafted, in cooperation with UNEP, as intial assessment of the current mercury inventory in the country.
In order to get involved in the global actions with regards to safe mercury management, the governing institutions in North Macedonia, have taken their first steps, including: locating the mercury storage and identifying the sources of mercury, so as to collect data on the production processes where mercury is used, asses the existing policy. This is for the purpose of identify the main financial resources and mechanisms to build capacitates that will provide safe management of the mercury.
Financed by: Special Programme Trust Fund, UN Environment Implementation Agency: Resource Environment Center (REC) – North Macedonia Implementation Partner: Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning / POPs Unit Budget: Approved: Launched: June, 2020 Duration of Project: 30 Months
This Project aims at enhancing the strength of the institutional capacities, with regards to integrated coordination, cooperation, synergy of the implementation of legally binding International Agreements: Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm, Minamata Convention and the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). Namely, the main objective is to perform gap-analysis and situation report on the current state of chemicals and waste management and define a coordinative body responsible for coordinating the development, adoption and enforcement of policy, legislation and regulation which should establish framework for the joint implementation of the quadruple scheme and SAICM.
The Project was approved on the Third Meeting of the Executive Board of the special Programme, held in Nairobi, Kenya, in December 2017. It has officially launched in June, 2020 and it will be finalized in January, 2023, upon ensuring sustainability of the established coordinative division.
More specific objectives of the Project are:
Definition and establishment of the National Coordination Mechanism, represented by all involved institutions, responsible of forming working group
Review of the national institutional and legal structure for chemicals and waste management, performed by the working group
Training component for the institutional representatives on the legal and institutional aspects linked with the implementation of the chemicals and waste
Mainstreaming of the priorities for strengthening institutions for chemicals and waste management and quadruple synergy scheme in the national chemical and waste planning (2021-2026), including update of the National Action Plan on SAICM
Define Terms of Reference of the separate division responsible for joint implementation of the Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm, Minamata Convention and SAICM, established under the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning and its incorporation within the updated NAP.
Full support and participation is expected from multiple institutions such as:
Financed by: SAICM QSP (Quick Start Program) Trust Fund. Implementation agency: UNDP Implementing Partner: Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning/POPs Unit Budget: 248.400$ Approved: October, 2006 Launched: 10 April, 2008. Duration of Project: 24 months
The SAICM Project in North Macedonia was approved by the Trust Fund Implementation Committee among the first three eligible countries in October, 2006 and was launched in April 2008 upon the signing of the Agreement by the Ministry of the Environment and Physical Planning as an Implementing Partner and the UNDP Resident representative as an Implementing Agency.
The main goal of the project is to support the Government:
to assess its sound management of chemicals (SMC) regime
to put a plan to begin addressing gaps in the national regime, and
to help improve the incorporation of national sound management of chemicals into the national development planning agenda.
More specific objectives of the project are:
development of an Initial National Situation Report and gathering of data on areas of high/risk/exposure for the environment and human health within the country;
qualification of links between priority major chemicals problem areas and human health and environmental quality in the country, and quantification of the costs of inaction/benefits of action in planning/finance/economic language regarding major chemical management problem areas;
identification of the areas of its national SMC governance regime that need strengthening most urgently and development of a realistic phased plan to address these needs;
strengthening its national capacity relative to SMC and enhance general knowledge and understanding on SMC issues amongst decision makers, managers, the industry, NGOs and the public;
proposing a path forward for our country to mainstream the highest priority SMC issues in our country’s development planning processes and plans and prepare a strategic national document which will express Government commitment towards the implementation of environmentally sound chemicals management;
development and formulation of a National Plan on the implementation of SAICM’s Global Plan of Action.
This project is implemented in collaboration with UNEP as part of UNDP/UNEP “Partnership Initiative for the integration of SMC Considerations into Development Planning Processes”.
Four major value-added features of the Strategic Approach, relative to the international management of chemicals work that preceded it, are:
A strengthened focus on improved cross-sectoral governance for the sound management of chemicals** at the national and local levels (i.e. rather than addressing chemicals on a chemical-by-chemical for chemicals class basis exclusively);
An acknowledgement that the sound management of chemicals is essential for achievement of sustainable development, including the eradication of poverty and disease, the improvement of human health and the environment and the elevation and maintenance of the standard of living in countries at all levels of development;
Recognition that for sound management of chemicals to be advanced significantly beyond the pre-SAICM situation, there will need to be much stronger links established with the development planning priorities, processes and plans of developing countries with the goal of integrating chemicals management into development planning (ICDP) and,
Addressing, in a more comprehensive / holistic manner, the increasing gap in the capacity of developed and developing countries to manage risks posed by chemicals.
Through this project the country also could serve as an example that will help donor (QSP trust Fund) and recipient countries to better assess how to mobilize and target additional resources for implementation of SAICM going forward. For this reason, this project advances the country’s national objectives in the implementation of SAICM and will allow the country to contribute replicable examples that will benefit other countries under SAICM.
