Narrative Report
“Sub-regional Workshop on Enhancing Parties Capacities for Environmentally Sound Management of Mercury Wastes under the Basel Convention”
Organized by:
the Secretariat of the Basel Convention
and
the Basel Convention Coordinating Centre (BCCC), Stockholm Convention Regional
Centre (SCRC), for Latin America and the Caribbean
Pedro Figari Montevideo Hotel Uruguay November 17th -19th 2015
Report Index
1. Summary ...... 2
2. Introduction ...... 3
3. Workshop Objectives ...... 4
4. Workshop Development ...... 4
5. Conclusions ...... 6
6. Recommendations ...... 7
7. Annexes...... 8
Annex I: Pictures ...... 8
Annex II: List of participants ...... 15
Annex III: Agenda ...... 19
1. Summary
The Subregional Workshop on Enhancing Parties Capacities for Environmentally Sound Management of Mercury Wastes, in the framework of the Basel Convention, has been organized by the Joint Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention in cooperation with the Coordinating and Regional Centre for the Basel and Stockholm Convention, based in Montevideo, Uruguay. It was attended by 35 participants representing governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela and Uruguay, as well as several international experts on the subject.
This 3-days workshop, has intended to improve capabilities of the environmentally sound management of mercury waste through awareness raising.
Participants have also received training in the areas of Environmental Biomonitoring, Contaminated Sites, Assessment and Risk Communication.
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2. Introduction
In the Basel Convention, elemental mercury and mercury containing or contaminated wastes are categorized as hazardous wastes. Improper handling, collection, transportation or disposal of mercury wastes as well as some disposal technologies, can lead to emissions or releases of mercury, and could affect the human health and the environment.
Technical guidelines were developed, under the Basel Convention framework, for the environmentally sound management of waste, falling under its scope. Technical guidelines provide for the foundation upon which countries can operate at a standard that is not less environmentally sound than that required by the Basel Convention.
The Convention defines "Environmentally Sound Management" of waste subject to its control, as taking all practicable steps to ensure that these wastes are managed in a manner which will protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects which may result from such waste.
The growing global trend towards phasing out mercury-added products and processes using mercury will result in the generation of an excess of mercury if mercury supplies remain at the current level. Therefore, ensuring environmentally sound management of mercury waste will be a critical issue for most countries. Towards this end, the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury, was adopted in 2013, and a this date it has not entered into force.
The workshop will target national officials from selected Parties in the Latin American and Caribbean region. In addition, representatives of regional centres, of Inter- Governmental Organizations (IGOs) and the civil society organizations were welcome to participate in the workshop.
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The training workshop was organized in close cooperation with the Joint Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions and the Basel Convention Coordinating Centre, Stockholm Convention Regional Centre, for Latin America and the Caribbean based in Montevideo, Uruguay. The European Union has kindly provided the funding for the training activity.
3. Workshop Objectives
• Enhancing Parties’ knowledge and expertise on environmentally sound management of mercury waste based on the existing Technical Guidelines developed by the Basel Convention on mercury waste and other existing tools; • Increasing awareness of Parties on the set of practical manuals on Environmentally Sound Management (ESM, for its English acronym) developed by an expert working group, including issues of classification, collection, storage, packaging and labeling, transportation and disposal operations under the Basel Convention; • Pilot testing of the updated existing technical guidelines on mercury waste and the practical manuals on ESM; and, • Facilitation the early implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury by strengthening countries capacities to deal with mercury waste.
4. Workshop Development
Day 1 The workshop was opened with the participation of the Director of the National Environment Directorate of Uruguay (DINAMA, by its Spanish acronym), Mr. Alejandro Nario, the Director of the Basel Convention Coordinating Centre, Stockholm Convention Regional Centre, for Latin America and the Caribbean based in Uruguay, Ms. Gabriela Medina and the Representative of the Joint Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, Ms. Francesca Cenni, who welcomed the participants.
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It was made an introduction to the objectives of the Workshop and then it was done a round of presentation of the workshop participants, both local and foreign ones.
Later, the Joint Secretariat presented on the Transboundary Movement and Environmentally Sound Management of mercury waste and was performed a group exercise in this regard.
Finally invited experts explained on Assessment and Risk Communication and Environmental Biomonitoring in the context of mercury waste.
Day 2
During the morning were made presentations on Prevention and Waste Minimization and the Capabilities of National Laboratories in Latin America and the Caribbean, made to carry out sampling and analysis of mercury in the Region.
To continue, several presentations on sampling and analysis by representatives of Uruguay were performed.
The Secretariat also presented a brief review of labeling of mercury waste according to the revised technical guidelines.
During the afternoon were visited the laboratories of the National Environment Directorate of Uruguay (DINAMA, for its Spanish acronym), and the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay (LATU, for its Spanish acronym), there, on each laboratory, was possible to observe how to perform the analysis of samples with mercury and the operation of the equipment required.
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Day 3
To begin, the experts exposed about the collection, storage, recovery, recycling and disposal of mercury waste and then on the Remediation of Contaminated Sites.
After that, were presented topics that addressed the issue of the Legislative and Regulatory Framework globally and some countries presented their national situation on these regard.
An update on what has been done by the Working Group of Experts on Environmentally Sound Management (ESM) and it was addressed the challenges and opportunities for the environmentally sound management of mercury waste and its coordination with the Minamata Initial Assessment (MIAs, by its English acronym).
To close the afternoon, participants worked in groups on prevention and waste minimization and presentations of the results was performed.
After that, the Workshop evaluation was fulfilled, the delivery of certificates was done and the closure of the meeting was executed with the participation of the Director of the Basel Convention Coordinating Centre, Stockholm Convention Regional Centre, for Latin America and the Caribbean, Ms. Gabriela Medina and the Representative of the Joint Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, Ms. Francesca Cenni.
5. Conclusions
The workshop from the logistical point of view it was done successfully, transfers, lunches, technical visits, hotel services, materials, etc.
In the returns obtained by the attendees, it was noted:
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- The importance of being able to perform practical exercises on the direct application of the Basel Convention.
- There were clarified various technical aspects for carrying out inventories of dioxins and furans.
- It was highlighted the importance of exchanging experiences with countries in the region, essential information for planning future actions on each country.
- Interpretation details were clarified of the Basel Convention and its relationship with the Minamata Convention.
6. Recommendations
The recommendations came out of the returns obtained by the participants, of these is possible to highlight:
- It should go deeper in the legal framework of the Convention, so it was suggested that Regional Centers performs trainings that incorporates the legal aspects of this. - The need to perform more practical exercises and share concrete case of studies. - To have more technical support and to plan more training activities and exchange of experiences.
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7. Annexes Annex I: Pictures
Photography 1: Opening of the Workshop.
Photography 2: Plenary.
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Photography 3: Francesca Cenni, Joint Secretariat of Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.
Photography 4: Iris Fernandes, CETESB.
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Photography 5: David Bellinger, Harvard University.
Photography 6: Gabriela Medina, Director BCCC-SCRC.
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Photography 7: Working groups.
Photography 8: Working groups.
Photography 9: Working groups.
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Photography 10: Visit to laboratories.
Photography 11: Visit to laboratories.
Photography 12: Visit to laboratories.
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Photography 13: Visit to laboratories.
Photography 14: Visit to laboratories.
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Photography 15: Group Image.
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Annex II: List of participants
Name Surname Contact Institution Secretariat of 1 Gloria León [email protected] Envirnonmet Paraguay Secretariat of 2 Gilda Torres [email protected] Envirnonmet Paraguay
Ministry of Environment 3 Alexander Moreta [email protected] and Natural Resources Dominican Rep.
Ministry of Environment 4 Héctor Urbaez [email protected] And Natural Resources Dominican Rep.
Ministry of Environment Maria 5 Abarca [email protected] And Natural Gabriela Resources Nicaragua Ministry of Environment 6 Ingrid Villatoro [email protected] And Natural Resources Guatemala
Ministry of 7 Lady Dominguez [email protected] Health and Social Protection Colombia Secretary of Environment 8 Alberto Capra [email protected] and Sustentable Development Argentina 9 Leila Devia [email protected] Secretary of
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Environment and Sustentable Development Argentina
Ministry of 10 Sonia Aranibar [email protected] Environment Peru
Ministry of 11 Elmer Quichiz [email protected] Health Peru
Ministry of 12 Francisca Farias [email protected] Environment Chile
Ministry of 13 Paulina Villamar [email protected] Environment Ecuador
Ministry of Environment 14 Miroslava Castellon [email protected] and Water Bolivia
Ministry of Environment 15 Tamara Perez [email protected] and Water Bolivia
Ministry of Popular Power 16 Gresmer Laya [email protected] for the Environment Venezuela
Ministry of Popular Power 17 Erik Pereira [email protected] for the Environment Venezuela
Ministry of 18 Yoaní González [email protected] Health Panama
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Ministry of 19 Jaime Velez [email protected] Health Panama
Ministry of Marco 20 Lobo [email protected] Health Tulio Costa Rica
Ministry of Juan 21 Oreamuno [email protected] Health Carlos Costa Rica
22 Iris Fernandes [email protected] CETESB
23 Rubia Kuno [email protected] CETESB
24 David Bellinger [email protected] Havard University 25 Francesca Cenni [email protected] BRS Secretariat
26 Mario Yarto [email protected] BRS Secretariat
Ministry of Housing, Land 27 Judith Torres [email protected] Planning and Environment Uruguay
28 Carlos Hernandez [email protected] UNDP
29 Magdalena Preve [email protected] UNDP
30 Gabriela Medina [email protected] BCCC-SCRC
31 Alejandra Torre [email protected] BCCC-SCRC
32 Natalia Maciel [email protected] BCCC-SCRC
33 Virginia Santana [email protected] BCCC-SCRC
Ministry of Housing, Land 34 Vivian Muñoz [email protected] Planning and Environment Uruguay
Ministry of 35 Guadalupe Exposito [email protected] Housing, Land Planning and
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Environment Uruguay
36 Carlos Saizar [email protected] LATU 37 Raquel Huertas [email protected] LATU
Uru/13/632 38 Anahir Cenoz [email protected] Project Uru/13/632 39 Griselda Castagnino [email protected] Project Ministry of Housing, Land 40 Natalia Barboza [email protected] Planning and Environment Uruguay
Ministry of Housing, Land 41 Alejandro Mangarelli [email protected] Planning and Environment Uruguay
Ministry of Housing, Land 42 Estefanía Geymonat [email protected] Planning and Environment Uruguay
Dominican 43 Alberto Villarroel [email protected] Republic Embassy in Uruguay
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Annex III: Agenda
Día 1 - Martes, 17 de Noviembre
08:30 - 09:00 Registro de participantes
Alejandro Nario, Director Nacional de Medio Ambiente, Ministerio de Vivienda, Ordenamiento Territorial y Medio Ambiente
Apertura Gabriela Medina, Directora, Centro Coordinador del Convenio de Basilea, Centro Regional del Convenio de Estocolmo, para América Latina y el Caribe, con sede en Uruguay (BCCC-SCRC-Uruguay) Francesca Cenni, Secretaría de los Convenios de Basilea, Rotterdam y Estocolmo (BRS) Mario Yarto, Secretaría de los Convenios de Objetivos del Taller Basilea, Rotterdam y Estocolmo (BRS) Mañana: 9:00- Presentación de los participantes Todos los participantes 12:30 Café Desechos de mercurio en el Convenio de Francesca Cenni, Secretaría BRS Basilea: movimientos transfronterizos y gestión ambientalmente racional de los desechos con mercurio, vínculos con el Convenio de Rotterdam Desechos de mercurio y el Convenio de Desiree Narvaez, PNUMA Rama Químicos y Minamata, Asociación Mundial sobre el Desechos mercurio (participación a distancia) Desechos de mercurio y el Convenio de Judith Torres, Ministerio de Vivienda, Minamata, Asociación Mundial sobre el Ordenamiento Territorial y Medio Ambiente mercurio
Discusión Todos los participantes 12:30-14:00 Almuerzo
Ejercicio grupal en movimiento transfronterizo Trabajo en grupos Tarde: 14:00-18:00 Café
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Presentación de resultados de los trabajos en grupo y discusión Todos los participantes general
Rubia Kuno y Iris Regina Fernandes Poffo, Companhia Evaluación de Riesgo y Comunicación del Riesgo para la gestión de Tecnologia de Ambiental do racional de los desechos con mercurio Estado de Sao Paulo (CETESB) (Stockholm Convention Regional Centre in Brazil) Rubia Kuno, CETESB Monitoreo ambiental y biomonitoreo en el contexto de desechos con mercurio David Bellinger, Universidad de Harvard Evelyn Swain, Especialista ambiental, Clima y Productos Oportunidades para financiado de los proyectos de mercurio por Químicos, el Fondo para el el Fondo para el Medio Ambiente Mundial Medio Ambiente Mundial (FMAM) Secretaría BRS/BCCC-SCRC- Resumen del primer día Uruguay
19:00 Recepción
Día 2 - Miércoles, 18 de Noviembre
Prevención y minimización de desechos and capacidades de los laboratorios nacionales en América Latina para llevar a cabo el muestreo y Mario Yarto, Secretaría BRS análisis de mercurio en Latinoamérica
Gabriela Medina, Directora, BCCC-SCRC-Uruguay Raquel Huertas, Laboratorio Tecnológico del Uruguay Muestreo y Análisis (LATU) Mañana: 9:00-12:30 Natalia Barboza, Dirección nacional de medio ambiente de Uruguay (DINAMA)
Café
Breve reseña sobre etiquetado de los desechos Francesca Cenni, Secretaría con mercurio de acuerdo con las directrices BRS técnicas revisadas Ejercicio grupal en prevención y minimización de Trabajo en grupos desechos
12:30-14:00 Almuerzo
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Presentación de resultados de los trabajos en Todos los participantes grupo y discusión general
Tarde: 14:00-18:00 Visita: Laboratorios de LATU y DINAMA Todos los participantes
Día 3 - Jueves, 19 de Noviembre
Gestión ambientalmente racional de los desechos con mercurio: recolección, almacenamiento, Mario Yarto y Francesca recuperación de recursos, reciclado y disposición Cenni, Secretaría BRS final
Gabriela Medina, Directora, Remediación de Sitios Contaminados BCCC-SCRC-Uruguay Mañana: 9:00-12:30 Café
Ejercicio grupal en gestión ambientalmente Trabajo en grupos racional de los desechos con mercurio Presentación de resultados de los trabajos en Todos los participantes grupo y discusión general
12:30-14:00 Almuerzo
Marco legislativo y normativo para la gestión Francesca Cenni, Secretaría ambientalmente racional de los desechos con BRS mercurio
Marcos legales nacionales para el manejo ambientalmente racional de los desechos con Gobiernos de Perú y Ecuador mercurio: estudio de casos
Café Tarde: 14:00-18:00 Desafíos y oportunidades para el manejo ambientalmente racional de los desechos con Trabajo en grupos mercurio y la coordinación con MIAs
Conclusiones y entrega de certificados Secretaría BRS
Secretaría BRS/BCCC-SCRC- Evaluación y ceremonia de clausura Uruguay
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