Forum information
What is the International HCH & Pesticides Forum?
The International HCH and Pesticides Forum is a technical forum, open for discussions and interactions among the pesticides manufacturing industry, international, national and regional authorities, NGOs, Research and Development Institutes, contractors, consultants and other knowledgeable and interested parties. The aim of the Forum is to find technical solutions to the problems arising from the (former) production and application of pesticides.
Background:
The aim of 12th International HCH and Pesticide Forum is to present and discuss the problems connected with a huge amount of obsolete pesticides in the regions of Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia and many others around the Globe, their inventory, present amounts and elimination, which had started successfully during the previous eleven Forums. This Forum is undertaken in the light of the achievements being made since the 7th Forum being held exactly a decade ago in Ukraine and this is an ideal moment to make status of progress and to introduce new important initiatives that will lead to a sustainable strategy to finally solve this problem. Further development of a parallel strategy for a sustainable agriculture using less chemicals and avoiding new obsolete pesticides. It is also taking into account the developments being followed by the Public Hearing in the European Parliament in June 2010, which has become a milestone for stronger engagement of EU Commission with other stakeholders.
Objectives:
The Forum objectives are:
- To make status of the developments and new plans in Ukraine over the last decade, and assess is these developments can be used as example for other countries in the region and elsewhere
- To review of past and on-going activities in the field of obsolete pesticides problems in Central European and EECCA Countries, Africa, Asia and South America
- What has been realized from the 11th Forum recommendations?
- To discuss the national and regional strategies, action plans and financial resources for elimination of the obsolete pesticides – from discussion to action
- To review and exchange technologies and experiences for inventory, risk assessment, environmental impact assessment of central stores, environmentally sound management, storage and destruction of obsolete and POPs pesticides, PCBs and contaminated soils
- Awareness raising of the obsolete pesticides problems globally, regionally, nationally, locally
Approach:
The preliminary programme of the 12th Forum includes three days discussions and one day field trip on the 9th of November.
Special workshops on (preliminary version) are proposed:
- High Level Section on Public-Private Partnership on establishment of investment platform for work towards sustainable Clean-up of Obsolete and POPs pesticides and other POPs in the FSU in the next decade (organised by Bram de Borst, Chair IHPA)
- Progress in the EU funded FAO Project “Improving capacities to eliminate and prevent recurrence of obsolete pesticides as a model for tackling unused hazardous chemicals in the former Soviet Union”
- Newly listed POPs and Dioxin/U- POPs in the Stockholm Convention (Roland Weber, POPs Environmental Consulting)
- Status of UNEP-GEF Regional Project: “Demonstrating and Scaling Up Sustainable Alternatives to DDT for the control of vector borne diseases in Southern Caucasus and Central Asia” (organised by Stephan Robinson, Green Cross)
- Ukraine: Achievements over the last decade and plans for the future (organised by Mikhail Malkov, IHPA Ambassador for Ukraine)
- Monitoring as a tool for effectiveness evaluation of the conventions and directives measures (organised by Ivan Holoubek, RECETOX)
- Progress and experiences of waste and soil treatment solutions in the field (Nick Morgan -Neil Revera ,Veolia)
- Non-technological issues: Organizational, legal, and communication aspects of clean-ups
- PCB treatment and life cycle management for the 21st century: Current Experiences and Solutions (Dirk Jan Hoogendoorn, Orion B.V.)
- African Experience in Management of Obsolete Pesticides (organised by Michael Hansen, Ramboll)
- Effectiveness of the international conventions – words of declarations vs. solving of real problems (organised by Ivan Holoubek, RECETOX)
- Pesticides Management: ”MORE FOOD LESS RISK” (Organised by Jan Breithaupt, FAO)
- Health problems at obsolete pesticides sites (organised by Margret Schlumpf, Green Tox)
- The added value of the classification POP pesticides dumpsite (organised by Boudewijn Fokke, Tauw & Marten van der Wijk, Witteveen + Bos)
- "Education and awareness raising; a need and a must" including “Pesticides Children education” (organised by Vladimir Shevtsov GreenCross and Sandra Molenkamp Milieukontakt International)
- Workshop Bioavailability (organised by Konstantin Terytze, German Environment Agency)