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 Wednesday,
6 December
Delegates met
in morning, afternoon and evening Plenary sessions to consider Articles
H (Public information, awareness and education), I (Research, development
and monitoring), E (Implementation plans), D (Measures to reduce
or eliminate releases), L (Reporting) and L bis (Effectiveness evaluation),
M (Non-compliance), N (Settlement of disputes), and O (Conference
of Parties). The Contact Groups on Prohibition and Restriction,
and on Byproducts also convened.
Left: main
entrance of the The Sandton Convention Center, site of POPs-5. More
images of the SCC below.
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| Research,
Development and Monitoring (Article I): Delegates agreed Parties
shall "encourage and/or undertake" appropriate research, development,
monitoring and cooperation pertaining to POPs "and, where relevant,
to their alternatives." The UKRAINE added candidate POPs. |
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On specific
requirements under Article I, THE GAMBIA advocated "national and"
international efforts to strengthen, inter alia, research capabilities.
Delegates agreed. She also proposed a provision on gearing research
towards alleviating effects of POPs on reproductive health, which
was bracketed. |
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Plans (Article E): PAKISTAN proposed, and delegates accepted,
text on updating plans at "periodic" instead of "regular" intervals.
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Public Information,
Awareness and Education (Article H): The text proposed by the
US on developing mechanisms, such as PRTRs, for collecting and disseminating
information was supported by several other delegations |
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Wastes (Article
D4): The European Commission (left), on behalf of the
EU (represented by France, on the right) noted its proposal
(UNEP/POPS/INC.5/CRP.51) that: POPs wastes should be destroyed or
transformed into a non-POP product, and if not possible, only environmentally
sound manner disposal be permitted; proposes close cooperation between
the POPs and Basel Conventions; specifically mentions POPs-contaminated
products; and POPs wastes should not be recycled.
RealAudio of the EU statement
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The US accepted
reference to the Basel Convention and supported lifting of all brackets.
He noted that waste has been a difficult issue at INC4 and that
the Chair's text strikes an acceptable balance.
RealAudio of the US statement
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BELGIUM
supported EU text stating that not all Basel disposal methods are
applicable to POPs. He noted that in a certain sense there are two
Basel Convention regimes; because there is "an important gap"
between those countries that have ratified the Convention and those
that have not.
RealAudio of Belgium's statement |
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Nigeria, on behalf of the G-77/China introduces its CRP on Finances
(Article K), and Chair Buccini reacts. Debate on Article
K was suspended until Thursday morning.
Left:
Nigerian delegate having a post-Plenary discussion with Mohamed
El-Ashry, CEO of the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
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The
Sandton Convention Center:
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In
the corridors...
Murmurs of concern
sounded in some quarters Wednesday over the pace of progress at INC-5.
Several participants observed that a mushrooming of contact groups and
the revisiting of old debates, on wastes for instance, did not bode well
for clearing the numerous remaining brackets. Although an eagerly anticipated
and potentially catalytic G-77/China CRP on financial mechanisms improved
prospects for momentum, some cautioned that issues such as interim measures,
the precautionary principle, draft decisions for the Diplomatic Conference
and reviewing the entire convention could take up significantly more time
than anticipated.
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