ACP MEA Caribbean Hub/BCRC-Caribbean Regional Training Workshop on Drafting Legislation for the Implementation of the Basel, Rotterdam & Stockholm Conventions

The Caribbean Hub Sub-Component of the Project for Capacity-Building Related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements in African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries (ACP MEAs Project) and the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the Caribbean Region (BCRC-Caribbean) are holding a Regional Training Workshop on Drafting Legislation for the Implementation of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions. The workshop will be convened at the Cascadia Hotel and Conference Centre in St. Ann’s, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago from 17–19 July 2013.

This training workshop is intended to promote Caribbean Parties’ implementation of and compliance with the provisions of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS Conventions) by providing training and advisory services in drafting national legislation or regulations pertaining to MEA implementation. The activity is expected to support the review, development and/or strengthening and harmonization of national legislation, regulatory and administrative frameworks and policies and will include the development and delivery of a regional training workshop.

 

BCRC-Caribbean Workshop for Capacity Development in the Environmentally Sound Management of Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment in the Caribbean

The Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the Caribbean Region (BCRC-Caribbean), in collaboration with the Partnership for Action on Computing Equipment (PACE) of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, is holding a three-day regional event entitled “Workshop for Capacity Development in the Environmentally Sound Management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment in the Caribbean”. The workshop is scheduled to take place from 09th to 11th July, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Conference Centre in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

This workshop is being organised in recognition of the wide-reaching issues associated with the management of the complex and ever-increasing stream of used and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE/e-waste) being generated across the Caribbean. Ensuring the environmentally sound management (ESM) of this waste stream is already a priority concern for stakeholders in the sector and amongst all of the other waste issues being experienced by the Caribbean countries.

However, achieving the ESM of WEEE has proven to be a perennial challenge for the region and is one that must be addressed in a strategic manner, and on a regional or sub-regional basis, given the constantly evolving nature of the stream. Moreover, the responses to this issue should also be able to recognise and maximise the social and economic benefits that are associated with the ESM of these wastes.

 

Internship Opportunity at the BCRC-Caribbean

Kindly note that the application period for this Internship is now officially closed. Thank you very much for your interest.
 
ABOUT THE INTERNSHIP
The Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the Caribbean Region (BCRC-Caribbean and/or the Centre) is presently accepting applications from suitable and dynamic individuals for an internship position at the Centre. The internship is being facilitated through the Caribbean Hub – ACP MEAs Project Internship Facility of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat and will be carried out at the BCRC-Caribbean for three-month period from May to July 2013 only.

The internship is based upon a work programme that aims to assess existing sources of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) data and information as well as contribute towards devising an appropriate strategy/strategies for managing and analysing these sources as they pertain to understanding of the generation and flows of this waste stream in Trinidad and Tobago.

This work will build upon initial attempt by the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) and Egarr and Associates to analyse the e-waste situation in Trinidad and Tobago through a rapid assessment in 2010 as well as initial scoping work and data collection performed by the BCRC-Caribbean in 2012. It will be a first step towards directly addressing the following weaknesses of the current e-waste situation experienced in Trinidad and Tobago which were identified in the 2010 study:

• The absence of reliable data on e-waste generation; and
• The lack of a proper inventory system by government institutions as the largest users regarding stored end-of-life products.

The objectives of the work programme associated with this internship are as follows:

1. To collate and evaluate available secondary data and information pertaining to the generation and flows of WEEE and EEE in Trinidad and Tobago;

2. To compare, contrast and understand the various mechanisms currently employed in collecting and managing data and information pertaining to the flows of EEE and WEEE in the country;
3. To assess the feasibility of utilising the available data in adequately quantifying the generation and flows of WEEE in Trinidad and Tobago in the mapping of these flows and in estimating; and
4. To devise a mechanism and develop recommendations through which the collation, management and evaluation of the data and information can be normalised and harmonised within the national context based upon the current practices employed by the various stakeholders in WEEE data and information management.

Outcomes of the BCRC-Caribbean GEF Workshop to Enhance the Implementation of the Stockholm Convention in the Caribbean

The Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the Caribbean Region (BCRC-Caribbean) in conjunction with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) hosted a three-day workshop from 19th to 21st February 2013 in Trinidad and Tobago in order to enhance the implementation of the Stockholm Convention in the Caribbean Region. The main objectives of this workshop were to:

• Develop a regional programme or project(s) in the Caribbean in order to assist countries in the implementation of their obligations under the Stockholm Convention; and
• Test an approach of using a Regional Centre set up by the waste and chemical conventions to assist in the development and subsequent execution of waste and chemical projects as a formal project executing agency.

Thirteen (13) country representatives from across the Caribbean were present at this workshop as well as participants from Trinidad and Tobago agencies such as the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR), the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment (DNRE) of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (Trinidad & Tobago Country Office). There was also representation from the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the UNDP Sub-regional Office out of Barbados.

Participants at the Workshop to Enhance the Implementation of the Stockholm Convention in the Caribbean Region

Several presentations were made over the three days of the workshop with the first day comprising of an official opening ceremony with remarks made by Mr. Ibrahima Sow of the GEF, Mr. Kishan Kumarsingh of the BCRC-Caribbean Steering Committee, and the Honourable Minister Ganga Singh of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources. Subsequent to this were the plenary session with presentations by the attending international agencies and the presentations made by the respective country representatives.

BCRC-Caribbean/GEF Workshop to Enhance the Implementation of the Stockholm Convention in the Caribbean

The BCRC-Caribbean in conjunction with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) are hosting a workshop in Trinidad and Tobago in order to enhance the implementation of the Stockholm Convention in the Caribbean Region. The purpose of this workshop is to identify priority areas for support in the sphere of chemical and waste management as they apply to the production, phasing out and elimination of intentional/unintentional Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs/UPOPs) in the region. The main objectives of the workshop are as follows:

• To develop a regional programme or project(s) in the Caribbean in order to assist countries in the implementation of their obligations under the Stockholm Convention; and
•  To test an approach of using a Regional Centre set up by the waste and chemical Conventions to assist in the development and subsequent execution of waste and chemical projects.

The intent of the deliberations and decisions that will take place during the workshop is to prepare a Project Concept Note (PCN), of which a first draft has already been developed and circulated among the regional and institutional representatives. The PCN will document the common and overlapping needs of the various member states in the region, consequently identifying projects that can be funded by GEF with the aim of reducing the impacts of POPs and UPOPs, and by extension other chemical wastes on the environment. These projects will then be implemented on a region-wide basis, or in regional clusters over a three to five year period.