Regionally Based
Assessment of Persistent
Toxic Substances
REGION X: CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
MINUTES OF THE 1ST MEETING OF THE REGIONAL TEAM1
13-15 June 2001, Heredia, Costa Rica
The 1st Regional Team Meeting was held in Heredia, Costa Rica and was attended by:
Paul Whylie, UNEP Chemicals, Project Manager.
Luisa Eugenia Castillo, IRET CSUCA, Costa Rica, Regional Coordinator.
Gonzalo Dierksmeier, Ministerio de la Agricultura, Cuba.
Jaime Espinoza, Instituto de Investigación Agropecuaria de Panamá, Panamá.
Roosebelt González, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, El Salvador.
Andrew Lewis, Caribbean Environmental Health Institute, St. Lucia (in substitution for Josh
Singh).
Oscar Nieto, Colmena, Colombia.
Laura Jimenez, IRET CSUCA, Costa Rica.
Opening of the meeting
Dra. Tatiana Lascaris from the Universidad Nacional (UNA), Costa Rica and Dr. Ricardo
Sol from the Confederation of the Central American Universities (CSUCA) welcomed the
participants of the meeting and offered the full support of their institutions to the Project.
The participants made a short presentation of themselves and expressed their
commitment to the RBA-PTS Project.
1 PM: Project Manager, RC: Regional Coordinator, RT: Regional Team, TM: Team Member
The agenda enclosed as Annex I was adopted.
Overview of the project
The PM, Paul Whylie, explained the general aims of the Project as enclosed in Annex II:
Discussion on the TOR for the Regional Team
The objectives the workplan and the timetable of the Project for Region X were presented
by the RC and endorsed by the RT. A workplan for the Region was approved and is
included as Annex II (Summary of project activities and responsible persons).
Each TM was assigned a specific geographical coverage as follows:
L.E.Castillo: Bahamas, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Haiti
Gonzalo Dierksmeir: Cuba
Jaime Espinoza: Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
Roosebelt González: El Salvador, Belize, Guatemala
Oscar Nieto: Colombia, Suriname, Venezuela
Joth Singh (Andrew Lewis): Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica,
Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Trinidad and Tobago.
The importance of the promotion of the Project within the whole region was stressed in
order to accomplish the objectives of the contribution phase and the successful production
of the Regional Report.
The Terms of Reference for the Regional Team were presented and discussed (as
included in Annex H of the Regionally Based Assessment of Persistent Toxic Substances
Project Document). A Memorandum of Understanding will be signed between the
supporting Institution and each TM, regarding the financial support. The terms will be
discussed bilaterally.
Presentation on the Project Web Page
The project web page was presented by L. Jiménez.
A copy of the most important documents was handed to each TM, including overheads of
the projects objectives, project proposal, other general information regarding the project,
and questionnaires in english and spanish.
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Examination and discussion on the application of questionnaires and data
gathering on a national basis
The questionnaires were reviewed one by one, different doubts and queries concerning its
implementation were clarified by the PM. It was agreed that the information on treatment
plants would be collected separetely of the questionnaires.
It was agreed to include the following chemicals in the assessment:
Aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), mirex,
toxaphene, polichlorinated biphenyls (PCB´s), dioxins, furans, hexachlorocyclo-hexane
(gamma-HCH/lindane), policyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), endosulphan, atrazine,
pentachlorophenol (PCP), organotin compounds, organolead compounds, phthalates.
When no information is available on environmental levels, information on sources should be
stressed.
Discussion and proposal for the Regional Network of experts
In order to ensure a wide participation of countries, the TM should identify, as soon as
possible, experts in their area of responsibility (see previous item in the Minutes) to
complete the list distributed during the meeting. Relevant personnel from the ministries of
industry or trade should be included in these lists. The TM will send an updated list of
experts from their area of responsibility to the RC by the end of June. A complete updated
list for Region X will be compiled by the RC and sent to the PM.
Focal points in countries not represented in the RT will be identified and asked to
contribute during the data gathering phase and workshops. It was felt by the RT that
financial support would be required to support these activities, specific proposals will be
submitted by the TM by the end of July.
All the information collected by the members should be centralized by the RC for further
circulation within the RT.
Letters of formal appointment were requested by the TM to facilitate their duties within the
Project. The PM will send them after receiving the updated list of experts for the Region.
Regional Report
The different sections of the Regional Report were discussed and each TM was assigned
specific responsibilities in the subject coverage for the Regional Report:
-
Preface and introduction: L.E. Castillo
-
Sources: R. Gonzalez (Central America), J. Singh (A. Lewis) (Caribbean)
-
Environmental levels, Toxicological and Ecotoxicological Characterisation:
L.E. Castillo, O. Nieto
-
Transport pathways: J. Espinoza and G. Dierskmeier
-
Management of PTS:
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i.
Capacity to monitor PTS: J. Singh (A. Lewis)
ii.
Existing regulation and management structures: G. Dierksmeier
iii.
Status of enforcement in the region: G. Dierskmeier
iv.
Alternatives or measures for reduction: R. González
v.
Technology transfer: J. Espinoza
vi.
Indentification of needs: O. Nieto
It was agreed that the regional report should have around 100 pages.
A literature survey will be carried out for each country, including scientific and grey
literature; this should be finished by the end of August. A country by country report on
sources and environmental levels will be prepared by each TM for each country under their
coverage and sent to the RC by November 1, 2001. These reports will be redistributed by
the RC to the TM in charge of the preparation of the Sources and Environmental Levels
chapters.
The regional report should incorporate the information collected through filled
questionnaires, literature survey and contributed papers from the workshops or those
specifically requested to country experts.
Technical and Priority Setting Workshops
The timetable for the Workshops and Regional Priority Setting Meeting was discussed.
The dates and countries where these meeting will be held are included in Annex II.
It was agreed that priority would be given to invite experts from countries not represented in
the RT to participate in the first and second workshops. Experts from these countries will
be identified by the RC and RT members and invited to attend with a written contribution to
the workshop. The preparation of their contribution can be moderately indemnized, if
necessary. The publication of the proceedings in a specialized journal can be considered
in order to diseminate the information and toattract the interest of the participants.
All contributions to the Workshops (from the RT and invited experts) should be submitted in
english one month in advance of the workshop (printed version and disquette).
A general program for the workshops and regional priority setting meeting (RPSM) was
discussed. It was agreed that invitations for the RPSM should be sent 4 months in
advance to the relevant institutions, giving information about the character of the meeting
and the report. Regional organizations such as the PanAmerican Health Organization
(PAHO), Caricom, Secretaría de Integración Centroamericana (SICA) or Comisión
Centroamericana de Ambiente y Desarrollo (CCAD) should be asked to attend.
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Annex II:
Objectives
Ĝ To deliver a measure of the nature and comparative severity of damage and
threats posed at national, regional and ultimately at global levels by PTS
Ĝ To provide the GEF and UNEP with a scientific-based rationale for assigning
priorities for action among and between chemical related environmental issues
Ĝ To determine the extent to which differences in priority exist among regions
Results
Ĝ Identification of major sources of PTS at the regional level
Ĝ Impact of PTS on the environment and human health
Ĝ Assessment of transboundary transport of PTS
Ĝ Assessment of the root causes of PTS related problems, and regional
capacity to manage these problems
Ĝ Identification of regional priority PTS related environmental issues
Ĝ Identification of PTS related priority environmental issues at the global level
Outputs
Ĝ Establishment of a network of PTS experts from various sectors of government,
academia, relevant international organisations, and the private sector
Ĝ Establishment of an adequate management and co-ordination structure with a
Project Manager, Regional Co-ordinators, Regional Teams and a Steering
Group
Ĝ Twelve comprehensive Regional Reports
Ĝ A global report, which will extract and highlight the major issues from the
Regional Reports, e.g., commonalities and cross-cutting issues, give a list of
priority issues on a regional and on a global basis, and suggest interventions to
address the problems identified. The Global Report will provide guidance to the
GEF for further actions
Project Format
Ĝ Globe Divided Into 12 Regions : Arctic, North America, Europe, Mediterraneu,
Sub-Saharan Africa, Indian Ocean, Central And North East Asia (Western North
Pacific), South East Asia And South Pacific, Pacific Islands, Central America
And The Caribbean, Eastern And Western South America, Antarctica
Ĝ Approximately 160 countries slotted into the twelve regions.
Ĝ Regional Co-ordinators established for each region. Responsible for organising
work at regional level and for producing the Regional Report.
Ĝ In each region, a regional team of 4-5 members will be selected from the wider
network
Ĝ Individual regional team members will be responsible for co-ordinating specific
components of the Regional Reports and to promote contribution activity
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Ĝ A Project Manager is appointed at UNEP Chemicals who is responsible for managing
all aspects of project execution; dissemination of results and progress; and maintain
the website
Ĝ The Steering Group will advise the Project Manager
Project Workplan
Ĝ A $US5M project to run over two years September 2000 to August 2002
Ĝ Data contribution phase to span eight months (April November) during 2001
Ĝ Country experts nominally chosen by countries to spearhead data contributions within
each region
Ĝ Questionnaires available through all media including the website to gather information
on sources, environmental concentrations, environmental impacts and risk
assessments of PTS
Ĝ Regional Team members will co-ordinate the assembly and review of the data
compiled to produce a discussion paper for the Technical Workshops on the areas
specified above
Ĝ Two Technical Workshops to be held on sources and environmental concentrations and
eco-toxicological impact and transboundary movement of the substances selected
Ĝ A Regional Priority Setting Meeting of approximately 30 participants from all relevant
sectors will be convened to discuss the draft Regional Report
Ĝ A small task force (5-10 experts) will prepare a review paper evaluating the alternatives
to PTS chemicals and identify options for remediation
Ĝ A Global Priority Setting Meeting of approximately 30 participants from a broad cross-
section of the sectors involved in PTS
Ĝ A Global report is developed that extracts and highlights the major issues from the
Regional Reports; give a list of priority issues on a regional and global basis; suggest
interventions to address the problems identified
Ĝ The Global Report will provide guidance to the GEF for further action
The project will mainly be based on electronic communication, so a website has been
designed as a hub for communication and information flow for scientists and others around
the world. The address is: http://www.chem.unep.ch/pts/
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Annex III:
WORKPLAN: SUMMARY OF PROJECT ACTIVITIES AND RESPONSIBLE
PERSONS
Activity
Time period
Details2
Country level contribution phase
April - Nov 2001
Data on PTS from all countries
involved in the project
1st Regional Team Meeting
13-15 June 2001
San José, Costa Rica (LEC)
Progress Meeting
to be defined
Panamá (JE)
Individual country reports
1 November
RT
Draft of sections: Sources, and
15 Dec 2001
To be circulated within the RT (15
Environmental concentrations.
pages each) (RG, JS, LEC, ON)
Workshop on sources and
25 Feb - 1 March
Cartagena, Colombia (ON)
environmental concentrations
2002
Draft of sections: Impact and
15 March
To be circulated within the RT (15
Transport
pages each) (LEC, ON, GD, JE)
Workshop on impact and
22-26 April 2002
Jamaica (JS)
transport
2nd Regional Team Meeting
18-20 June 2002
El Salvador (RG)
Draft Of Regional Report:
RT contributions
30 June 2002
RT
Integrated document
31 July 2002
RC
Regional Priority Setting Metting
26-30 Aug 2002
Costa Rica (LEC)
3rd Regional Team Meeting
1-4 Oct 2002
Cuba (GD)
Final draft of Regional Report
30 October 2002
Copies of Regional Report for
each country in the region, for
each member of the RT and 10
copies for GEF/UNEP. Three
copies to be made available on
CD Rom to UNEP.
2 LEC: Luisa Eugenia Castillo, JE: Jaime Espinoza, ON: Oscar Nieto, JS: Joth Singh, RG: Roosebelt
González, GD: Gonzalo Dierksmeier.
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