Speech of
the Hon. Devanand Virahsawmy
Minister of
Environment & Sustainable Development
on the occasion of the
Opening of the
Training of Trainers Workshop
FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF
POPs In mAURITIUS
on
Thursday 23 February 2012 at 09.15 hrs
Intercontinental Hotel - Balaclava
My Colleague, Honourable Lormus BUNDHOO, Minister of
Health and Quality of Life
Mrs. Tegmo-Reddy - UNDP Resident Representative
Mrs Ng, Director of Environment
Dr. Hans Ewoldsen, International Technical Expert
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good morning
It is indeed a great pleasure to address you on the occasion of
the opening of the ‘Training of Trainers Workshop’ organised by
my Ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Health & Quality
of Life, the United Nations Development Programme and
APEXHOM, L’Association des Producteurs et Exportateurs de
Produits Horticoles à Maurice
As you all know, the chemicals revolution of the last century has
changed our lives and contributed greatly to our well-being.
Without such developments, it would not have been possible to
feed the growing world population, find cures for diseases and
discover new materials that make our lives easier, and more
productive. Chemicals are now part of our daily existence.
Today some 100,000 different types of chemicals are available
on the market with 1,500 new ones being introduced every year.
However, it has also been found that many of these chemicals
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constitute a real threat to human health and to the environment.
One such group of chemicals, known as Persistent Organics
Pollutants (POPs), are particularly hazardous because they are
responsible for serious health problems, such as cardiovascular
disease, cancer, and other metabolic disorders. Moreover, these
substances remain in the environment for long periods of time.
In a recent U.N. report, entitled “Climate Change and POPs:
Predicting the Impacts”, it was stated that releases of POPs
trapped in soil, water and ice will increase due to rising global
temperatures. If climate change results in an increase in
exposure to POPs, this would amplify the risks related to their
harmful effects.
In the face of potential dangers these chemicals represent, the
international community came up with the Stockholm Convention
to control and regulate the handling, use and storage of these
harmful chemicals. The main objective of this Convention is to
protect human health and the environment from the adverse
effects of POPs by eliminating and restricting their production,
use and trade. As at now, 22 POPs are officially recognised by
the international community since ten new ones have been
identified and included in the annexes to the Stockholm
Convention.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
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I am pleased to say that Mauritius became signatory to the
Convention on the very day it was opened to parties for
signature. As a caring nation and to add up to international effort,
Mauritius has also signed Conventions which are related to the
POPs issue namely :
(i) The Basel Convention relating to the Control of
Transboundary
Movements
of
Hazardous
Wastes,
including POPs; and
(ii) The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed
Consent Procedure for certain Hazardous Chemicals and
Pesticides in International Trade.
Allow me now to also stress that Mauritius has adhered to some
38 Multilateral Environment Agreements, conventions, protocols
and other internationally binding and non-binding instruments.
Not later than last week I have inaugurated the validation
workshop for the Rio+20 national preparatory process, organized
to review progress made by Mauritius under the Rio conventions.
The progress report will be submitted at the next Earth Summit
scheduled for June this year.
To meet our obligations under the Stockholm Convention,
Mauritius prepared and submitted a National Implementation
Plan with the financial assistance of the Global Environmental
Facility. This Plan aims at reducing and eliminating POPs from
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our environment by way of inventories on production, use, stocks
and contaminated sites.
The Plan also provides for strategies to clean-up and prevent
future accumulation of POPs stocks. I am proud to say that
Mauritius was among the first countries to have completed its
National Implementation Plan that includes an assessment of the
initial 12 POPs, known as the “dirty dozen”.
Seven major sources of POPs have been identified in Mauritius,
namely DDT, biomass burning, medical waste incineration,
landfill leachate, accidental fires, domestic waste burning and
power production.
Since last year, the joint venture Polyeco S.A. /Environment
Protection Engineering S.A. from Greece has been recruited for
the packing and shipping of about 150 tons of obsolete POPs
chemicals including 145 tons of DDT. These POPs will be
incinerated in France. Furthermore, some 300 cubic meters of
DDT contaminated soils will be sent to Netherlands for
decontamination.
Ladies and Gentlemen
I would like to thank the Global Environment Facility and the
United Nations Development Programme for their financial and
technical support in the implementation of the project on
“Sustainable Management of POPs in Mauritius”.
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This project addresses the first two priorities of our National
Implementation Plan, namely:
1. the
disposal
of
obsolete
POPs
chemicals
and
decontamination of POPs-infested sites, and
2. a gradual introduction of a malaria vector control plan that
will make the use of DDT in the mid-term redundant.
The reduction and elimination of emissions and discharges of
POPs to the environment can only be achieved through the close
collaboration of all the stakeholders concerned. My Ministry, as
the Executing Agency of this project, is leaving no stone
unturned to create the right synergy among all players.
Allow me, at this stage, to put on record my personal
appreciation of the involvement of our main stakeholders in the
project, particularly, the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life, the
Ministry of Local Government & Outer Islands the Ministry of
Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment, the Central
Electricity Board and APEXHOM.
Coming back to today’s workshop, let me stress that one
important component of the project is the institution of the
Responsible Care Programme. Government is putting a high
premium on the care and protection of our environment by
placing Mauritius on the path of sustainability. It is imperative that
workers are well informed and kept posted of latest development
on the best techniques for the handling of POPs chemicals.
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Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to APEXHOM for
its keen interest in working together with us to translate this
initiative into concrete actions. I have no doubt that the
participants will benefit from this training course, which will help
them acquire vital knowledge and skills in handling POPs and
other hazardous chemicals. My appeal to them is to transmit the
acquired skills and knowledge to their colleagues.
I now have the pleasure and privilege to declare this workshop
open.
Thank you for your attention.
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