Stockholm Convention

Context

• The 18th meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) Review Committee (POPRC-18) to the Stockholm Convention  is being held in Rome.

The Stockholm Convention

• It  is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants (POPs). 
• Over 152 countries ratified the Convention and it entered into force in  2004.
• It focuses on eliminating or reducing releases of POPs. It sets up a system for tackling additional chemicals identified as unacceptably hazardous. 
• Global Environmental Facility (GEF)  is the designated interim financial mechanism for the Stockholm Convention.
• UNIDO is also responsible for supporting developing countries and countries with economies in transition to implement the Stockholm Convention
• Aims 
  • Eliminate dangerous POPs, starting with the 12 worst
  • Support the transition to safer alternatives
  • Target additional POPs for action
  • Cleanup old stockpiles and equipment containing POPs
  • Work together for a POPs-free future

Ratification by India 

• India had ratified the Stockholm Convention in  2006 as per Article 25(4), which enabled it to keep itself in a default “opt-out” position such that amendments in various Annexes of the convention cannot be enforced on it unless an instrument of ratification/ acceptance/ approval or accession is explicitly deposited with UN depositary.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had notified the ‘Regulation of Persistent Organic Pollutants Rules in 2018 under the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
  •  The regulation inter alia prohibited the manufacture, trade, use, import and export seven chemicals namely 
    •  Chlordecone, Hexabromobiphenyl,  Hexabromodiphenyl ether and Heptabromodiphenylether (Commercial octa-BDE),Tetrabromodiphenyl ether and Pentabromodiphenyl ether (Commercial penta-BDE),  Pentachlorobenzene, Hexabromocyclododecane, and  Hexachlorobutadiene.

Key Highlights of the recent  meeting 

•  It has included five more chemicals in its agenda.
• The listed 5 chemicals include a pesticide, a flame retardant and some plastic stabilising substances.

• 3 of the listed chemicals– chlorpyrifos, chlorinated paraffin (beyond prescribed standards) and long-chain perfluoro carboxylic acids had already been nominated by the 17th meeting (POPRC-17).
• Other 2 chemicals, dechlorane plus (a flame retardant) and UV-328 (a stabiliser used in some personal care products) which were qualified for risk management evaluation at POPRC-17. 

• It aims to list each of these chemicals in Annex A (elimination), B (restriction) and/or C (unintended release) of the Stockholm Convention.

India’s Stand

• Resistance: The United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) proposal to list chlorpyrifos as POP was resisted by India. However, chlorpyrifos got nominated as Persistent organic pollutants.
  • Reasons :  Chlorpyrifos is not a carcinogen and its concentrations are low.
    • Some of the studies in the POPRC-17 proposal showing adverse effects of chlorpyrifos were not peer reviewed.
  • Anupam Verma Committee: Chlorpyrifos has been registered under the Insecticide Act of 1968  and Anupam Verma Committee had recommended its review since 1977 for continued use in 2015.

What’s Next?

• India’s views against the listing of chlorpyrifos may not find much acceptance by the expert committee consisting of 31 experts — from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean
• The Stockholm Convention has listed 31 chemicals as of December 2020. 
  • This list is likely to expand further amid evidence pointing towards the health burden of hazardous chemicals and pesticides.

Source:DTE