UN recommends Public/Private partnerships against hazardous waste

UN recommends Public/Private partnerships against hazardous waste

PAMACC, Abidjan, COTE D'IVOIRE

The Africa regional director of United Nations Environment, Julliette Biao Koudenoukpo has called on African countries that have ratified the Bamako Convention to work in synergy with the private sector to better reinforce and drive actions against toxic waste dumping in the continent.

She noted that waste dumping in Africa has become a major concern necessitating synergy of actions, innovations and strong political will for more positive results.

« There is need to strengthen cooperation between the public and private sector, with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of the actions on ground, » she said in an interview on the sidelines of COP2 meeting to the Bamako convention in Abidjan-Ivory Coast January 31st, 2018.

The director enjoined state actors to deepen cooperation with civil society organisations and business partners as part of a broader effort to raise the profile in the fight against toxic waste dumping, poverty and promoting green growth.

She lauded some countries like Ivory Coast that are already heightening efforts to increase  the political priority accorded to sound management of chemicals and other waste dumping.

Other UN officials also shared the view of strong partnerships and cooperation to better push the Bamako convention and ensure its effective implementation on the ground by countries that have already ratified the treaty.

“Strengthening synergies between all the different development stakeholders will certainly give a boost to the effective application of the Bamako convention,” says  UN Environment Deputy Executive Director Ibrahim Thiaw said.

He also highlighted the different challenges countries face protecting the planet's critical ecosystems from contamination by hazardous chemicals and waste and the need for joined support and innovative strategies to overcome them.

"At this critical stage it is important for development stakeholders to commit to providing financial support to help countries address these important challenges,” Ibrahim Thiaw said.

Countries were also called to mainstream sound chemicals management in national agendas, create an integrated chemicals and wastes focal area, and expanding engagement with the private sector.

The youths were challenged to lead efforts at preventing Africa from becoming a dumping ground for toxic waste because environmental issues are concern for the future and better livelihood.

“The youths must make their voices heard and front actions on the ground. They are called to increasingly show commitment to get things change for the better because environmental issues are concerns for the future and for improved livelihood,” says Julliette Biao.

She recalled that African nations have long been at the center of incidents involving hazardous waste dumping and that it was time to bring this unfortunate situation to an end.

Important toxic waste dump incidents include the leaking barrels of toxic waste in Koko, Nigeria in 1988 and the Probo Koala scandal in Cote d’Ivoire in 2006, to the current piles of e-waste threatening the health of West African communities.

In an effort to prevent incidents such as ‘Koko’ and ‘Probo Koala’ from happening again, and to reinforce existing international treaties surrounding the shipment and disposal of hazardous waste as established in the Basel Convention and Bamako Convention African states meeting at the second Conference of the Parties (COP2) to the Bamako Convention are expected to come up with strong binding resolutions.

While pursuing the objectives of the Convention,UNEP officials say COP 2 provides the opportunity for the different stakeholders to ensure the continent rids itself of hazardous wastes and contribute to the achievement of a pollution-free planet.

« The ministers during the high level talks agreed that the time for a new momentum for Africa to rid itself of hazardous waste and contribute to achieving a pollution free planet is now, » Julliette said.

So far only 25 African countries have ratified the Bamako Convention treaty. The new President of the COP2 to the Bamako Convention appealed to the other countries in the continent that are still dragging their feet to ratify and join the struggle.

« We strongly hope countries that are yet to ratify will do so and join in the fight, » says Anne Desiree Ouloto, the new President  of COP2 and minister for Public Health,Environment and Sustainable Development of Ivory Coast.

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UN recommends Public/Private partnerships against hazardous waste

UN recommends Public/Private partnerships against hazardous waste

PAMACC, Abidjan, COTE D'IVOIRE

The Africa regional director of United Nations Environment, Julliette Biao Koudenoukpo has called on African countries that have ratified the Bamako Convention to work in synergy with the private sector to better reinforce and drive actions against toxic waste dumping in the continent.

She noted that waste dumping in Africa has become a major concern necessitating synergy of actions, innovations and strong political will for more positive results.

« There is need to strengthen cooperation between the public and private sector, with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of the actions on ground, » she said in an interview on the sidelines of COP2 meeting to the Bamako convention in Abidjan-Ivory Coast January 31st, 2018.

The director enjoined state actors to deepen cooperation with civil society organisations and business partners as part of a broader effort to raise the profile in the fight against toxic waste dumping, poverty and promoting green growth.

She lauded some countries like Ivory Coast that are already heightening efforts to increase  the political priority accorded to sound management of chemicals and other waste dumping.

Other UN officials also shared the view of strong partnerships and cooperation to better push the Bamako convention and ensure its effective implementation on the ground by countries that have already ratified the treaty.

“Strengthening synergies between all the different development stakeholders will certainly give a boost to the effective application of the Bamako convention,” says  UN Environment Deputy Executive Director Ibrahim Thiaw said.

He also highlighted the different challenges countries face protecting the planet's critical ecosystems from contamination by hazardous chemicals and waste and the need for joined support and innovative strategies to overcome them.

"At this critical stage it is important for development stakeholders to commit to providing financial support to help countries address these important challenges,” Ibrahim Thiaw said.

Countries were also called to mainstream sound chemicals management in national agendas, create an integrated chemicals and wastes focal area, and expanding engagement with the private sector.

The youths were challenged to lead efforts at preventing Africa from becoming a dumping ground for toxic waste because environmental issues are concern for the future and better livelihood.

“The youths must make their voices heard and front actions on the ground. They are called to increasingly show commitment to get things change for the better because environmental issues are concerns for the future and for improved livelihood,” says Julliette Biao.

She recalled that African nations have long been at the center of incidents involving hazardous waste dumping and that it was time to bring this unfortunate situation to an end.

Important toxic waste dump incidents include the leaking barrels of toxic waste in Koko, Nigeria in 1988 and the Probo Koala scandal in Cote d’Ivoire in 2006, to the current piles of e-waste threatening the health of West African communities.

In an effort to prevent incidents such as ‘Koko’ and ‘Probo Koala’ from happening again, and to reinforce existing international treaties surrounding the shipment and disposal of hazardous waste as established in the Basel Convention and Bamako Convention African states meeting at the second Conference of the Parties (COP2) to the Bamako Convention are expected to come up with strong binding resolutions.

While pursuing the objectives of the Convention,UNEP officials say COP 2 provides the opportunity for the different stakeholders to ensure the continent rids itself of hazardous wastes and contribute to the achievement of a pollution-free planet.

« The ministers during the high level talks agreed that the time for a new momentum for Africa to rid itself of hazardous waste and contribute to achieving a pollution free planet is now, » Julliette said.

So far only 25 African countries have ratified the Bamako Convention treaty. The new President of the COP2 to the Bamako Convention appealed to the other countries in the continent that are still dragging their feet to ratify and join the struggle.

« We strongly hope countries that are yet to ratify will do so and join in the fight, » says Anne Desiree Ouloto, the new President  of COP2 and minister for Public Health,Environment and Sustainable Development of Ivory Coast.

Freelance media opportunity to win $5,000

Freelance media opportunity to win $5,000

2018 Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism

The Kurt Schork Memorial Fund (KSMF) is now accepting submissions for its 2018 awards in international journalism.

Since its inception in 2002, the Kurt Schork Memorial Fund has sought to support those journalists Kurt most admired, the freelancers and local reporters whose work is often poorly paid, mostly unsung and all too often fraught with danger.

Today, the three annual awards, for freelance and local journalism and, since 2017, for news fixers, are recognized worldwide as a mark of excellence and have an established track record for brave reporting on conflict, corruption and injustice.

The 17th annual call for awards is therefore now split into three categories:

  • a Local Reporter award that recognizes the often over-looked work of journalists in developing nations or countries in transition who write about events in their homeland. 
  • a Freelance award for those journalists who travel to the world’s conflict zones, usually at great personal risk, to witness and report the impact and consequences of events.
  • A News Fixer award rewarding local journalists and/or experts, hired by a visiting foreign reporter or news organization, whose guidance and local knowledge materially benefited the content, impact and reach of the stories submitted.

Each award is for $5,000 and will be presented at a prestigious ceremony in London in late October or November 2017. Since 2009, the awards ceremony has been hosted at the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s main offices in Canary Wharf, London.

The deadline for entries is midnight (GMT) on Wednesday, May 31.

If you would like to apply, or make a nomination for the newly introduced News Fixer award, please visit the 2018 entry form page which provides definitions for each of the award categories and will guide you through the application process. Some of the main detail is also included below:

2018 Submission criteria

  • Three separate articles must be submitted, including when journalists are nominating fixers for the new award.
  • The submitted articles must have been published between June 1, 2017 and May 31, 2018.
  • Accepted media: any print-based medium, such as newspapers and magazines, or established online publications. Blogs, personal websites and social media pages or channels are not accepted.
  • Articles can encompass war reporting, human rights issues, cross-border troubles, corruption or other controversial matters impacting on people’s lives. Judges will be looking for professionalism, high journalistic standards, and evidence of dedication and courage in obtaining the story.
  • Because of problems with scanned entries and failed links in previous years, we require that each article be provided as a text file – MS Word (.doc or .docx) or similar text format (.rtf), or a PDF of a text file.
  • You may supply a URL link to your article(s), or a scan (as a PDF or JPG file) as supporting evidence of the publication context, but your entry will be disqualified if you do not also submit the required text files.
  • The awards panel will take into account nominations for fixers who have received more than one recommendation from journalists they have worked with.

Additional material you must provide:

  • a CV or resumé about your education and journalism career or about that of the fixer you are nominating.
  • a passport-quality photo (JPEG, GIF or PNG file, size no larger than 250Kb) of yourself or that of the fixer you are nominating.
  • a high standard English translation if the original articles are not in English.
  • a short statement explaining what you had to do to get the story.

In the case of the fixer award, we require from the nominating journalist:

  • A statement of nomination
  • A copy of the story or stories generated because of the nominated fixer’s involvement
  • A statement that the nominee is aware that he/ or she is being nominated and has given permission for the nomination (or perhaps the nomination for anonymous if win). The awards panel will take into account nominations for fixers who have received more than one recommendation from journalists they have worked with.
  • An acceptance from the nominator and nominee that they accept the terms of the competition
  • Two references

The maximum file size for text submissions or scans is 5Mb.

Entrants must complete the online entry form (or a PDF for printing and posting if not possible).

Enquiries

If you have any questions about the 2018 awards process, please write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Postal address: Ms. Belen Becerra, Thomson Reuters Foundation, 30 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5EP

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Rapid disaster response saves Ivory Coast from toxic dump tragedy

Rapid disaster response saves Ivory Coast from toxic dump tragedy

ABIDJAN, Cote d'Ivoire (PAMACC News) - Early intervention and strong political will to fight against environmental harzards have helped Ivory Coast avert what would have been a damaging toxic dumping tragedy, says a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) audit report.

The audit report presented today at the Bamako COP 2 assembly in Abidjan, lauded the timely intervention of the Ivorian government with measures to mitigate what would have been the worst environmental disaster in the country.

“It is reassuring to see that with early intervention and strong political will, a disaster like the chemical contamination incident in Côte d’Ivoire can be mitigated over time,” UN Environment Deputy Executive Director Ibrahim Thiaw said.

“This independent and scientific environmental audit of the sites gives us access to a vault of best practices and pitfalls of the disaster response, and allows us to learn from a tragedy like this,” he added.

The UNEP regional director for Africa Juliette Biao Koudenoukpo noted that though there was general lethargy in most African countries to implement the Bamako Convention on preventing Africa from becoming the dumping ground for toxic waster, the example from Ivory Coast shows that innovative pathways can bring lasting solutions once there is a clear political will.

"We are proud of the measures put in place by the government of Ivory Coast to fight against toxic waste dumping and environmental pollution," she noted.
 
It should be recalled that national and international civil society organisations decried the illegal dumping of toxic waste in and around Abidjan, Ivory Coast, six years ago, by a multinational company, Trafigura.

Different organisations had published reports including documentation of various illnesses people in the areas where such dumping were taking place have been suffering from as a result of the dumping of toxic waste in their communities.

But the good news is that the Ivorian government reacted promptly to ward off what experts say would have been the worst environmental disaster in the entire West Africa.

The UN Environment thus conducted an independent audit of the sites affected by the 2006 waste dumping from the Probo Koala in various parts of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

According to the audit, multiple innovative actions were put in place just on time by the government.

The audit noted that in reality on 19 August 2006 the Probo Koala, chartered by shipping firm Trafigura, offloaded 528 cubic metres of liquid waste in the port of Abidjan. The waste was then transferred onto tanker trucks operated by a local contractor and dumped in 12 different locations around Abidjan.

Hours after the dumping, residents reported being overwhelmed by a strong smell and experiencing detrimental health effects such as respiratory difficulties and skin irritations.

As a precautionary measure, the Ivorian government ordered the closure of schools in affected areas and the destruction of fruits and vegetables grown near dumping sites.

Livestock raised in proximity to some sites was also culled while fishing was banned in the bays of the Ébrié Lagoon.

In other measures the government provided medical assistance and facilities to over 100.000  people affected just weeks immediately following the dumping.

A series of clean-ups began in September 2006 and saw the sites excavated and the toxic materials shipped to France for incineration.

In the following years, several further clean-up and remediation activities were conducted by various actors including the Ivorian government.

According to the audit report, the swift mitigation measures taken by the Ivorian government paid off.
In January 2017, UN environment conducted a follow-up mission to carry out complementary sampling and to fill specific analytical gaps and to corroborate initial findings from the laboratory analysis.

In both missions, the UN experts were joined in the field by three experts from the Ivorian Anti-Pollution Center (CIAPOL).

The results obtained showed that ; none of the dumping sites had contamination exceeding the limits set by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire for remediation.

As a result, none of these sites requires additional intervention, even when gauged against Dutch intervention values, which are among the most commonly used guidelines for contaminated site management and remediation worldwide.

It also showed that elevated levels of chromium were observed in soil and water at the site in Agboville where maize that was potentially, and indirectly, impacted by the Probo Koala wastes was deposited.

As a result, the UN Environment recommended further assessment and close monitoring of the Agboville site and the continuation of restrictions imposed on public access to the facility, as well as the erection of signs to warn the public against harvesting grass or vegetables from the premises.

It also calls for due diligence for the decommissioning of the Akouédo municipal waste disposal site, which has long been earmarked for closure.

In the meantime, UN Environment recommends consideration of land use restrictions, in particular for agriculture on the site.

Based on the contamination levels at the Koumassi site, UN Environment calls for a comprehensive environmental assessment of the area to be undertaken as a basis for an action plan to mitigate impacts on public health.

It further urges the government to ensure that workers are provided with personal protection equipment and trained on occupational health.

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