Timetable of the Tunisia ASP

August 2007 - ASP Brochure: 30 August 2007, an ASP Tunisia Brochure is distributed, detailing components of the programme activities. Brochure prepared by Agence Nationale de Gestion des Déchets (ANGed). View the brochure in the Tunisia Information Folder.

May 2007 - Second Supervision Mission:  21-25 May 2007, a successful supervision mission, attended by the Tunisian PMU, NGO network participants, and the ASP Implementation Committee Partners. Emphasis of the mission focused on the Country-project Environment and Social Assessment and the preparation of disposal. The NGOs specialising in pesticide activities provided additional expertise during the meeting.

May 2007 - National NGO meeting: 9 May 2007, Tunis, the National NGO Meeting was held. During the meeting the PMU gave an update on progress of the Tunisia ASP, there were presentations and dicussions on the activities of NGOs, functionality of the NGO network, and feedback on the NGO exchange event. Looking forward, discussion and workplans were established for NGO involvement beyond 2007, and the National Facilitator for the remainder of 2007 was designated as the NGO Alliance Femme et Environnement. 

April 2007 - Prevention Workshop: 2-6 April 2007, FAO hosted a Prevention Workshop.

January 2006: Ecotoxicological Training: 26 January - 10 February 2007, NGO particpants from Tunisia attended the PAN hosted Ecotoxicological Monitoring Training of Trainers (ToT) in Theis Senegal. From the meeting an ecotoxicological network was established, serving as a framework for skills and knowledge sharing.  

January 2007 - Training of Trainers Workshop: 29 January - 9 February 2007, FAO hosted a Training of Trainers (ToT) Workshop covering the activities of obsolete pesticides inventory, environmental risk assessment, safeguarding, repacking, that included field trips to pesticide stores.

November 2006 - First Supervision Mission: 20-24 November 2006, a joint World Bank Supervision Mission and FAO/CropLife Technical Mission took place. The mission was successful as several key implementation, operational and prevention issues were addressed. Presentations from the mission are detailed in the document library.

November 2006: Awareness Raising Day: 28 November, 2006, Sfax, designated 'Awareness Raising Day' for members of environment cluns in the governorate of Sfax.

October 2006: Awareness Raising: Sfax, October 2006, the Association pour la protection de la Nature et de l'Environnement de Sfax (APNES) initiated the project 'Information and awareness raising on the disposal of obsolete pesticides in the region of Sfax'. Activities of the project included: identifying key aspects of a regional action plan for using obsolete pesticides according to the Delphi method; an awareness raisig day for memeber of environment clubs in the governorate of Sfax; and development of a 2007 pocket calendar on pesticides and integrated pest management.

October 2006 - Inventory Complete: Inventory taking from Government stores has been completed and the inventory data is being entered into the OPMS. An inventory validation meeting is under discussion. The following steps will be repacking and export of the Tunisian stocks, for which FAO-WB dialogue on certain procurement issues is needed.

February 2006 - Inventory Environmental Risk Assessment Training: 6-13 February 2006, twenty-three field agents from the Tunisian Ministries of Agriculture, Environment and Health, and from country NGOs, were trained on the execution and completion of an inventory and environmental risk assessment. The training, organized and hosted by the Tunisia ASP PMU, was completed over a seven-day period that included field exercises to put theory into practice. FAO supported the event, providing the trainers and materials. Trainees spent a day and a half planning the inventory process to ensure that every part of the country and all known pesticide stores would be effectively surveyed.

February 2006 - Disbursement: Tunisia received the first disbursement from the World Bank, February 2006. The project is now in full implementation mode.

November 2005 - Launch workshop: 21-23 November 2005, Tunis, as the ASP-P1 grant for Tunisia was signed in Washington DC, a 3-day launch workshop occurred simultaneously. The launch was very successful, bringing together all of the key Project Management Unit (PMU) personnel for training on aspects such as Project Implementation, Finance, Procurement, Environment, and Safeguards. Following the launch workshop, participants undertook a field trip to view an obsolete stockpile in nearby Sousse, experiencing first hand the scale of clean-up and prevention in Tunisia.

November 2005 - Signing of Grant Agreement: 21 November, 2005, a meeting of the Tunisian Ambassador to the U.S., Mohamed Nejib Hachana, and the World Bank Country Director, Theodore Ahlers, represented a significant milestone in the ASP, as Tunisia became the first country to sign an ASP-P1 Grant Agreement.

July 2005 - Negotiations: 11-14 July 2005, Tunis, the Tunisian ASP was negotiated.

For more information on the Tunisia ASP, please contact:

• Project Coordination: Mr Walid Dhouibi, Agence Nationale de Gestion des Déchets (ANGed), Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, email: pasp@anged.nat.tn
• NGO Activities: Mr Fatma Ben Hamouda, Alliance Femme et Environnement, telephone: (+216) 71 57 9888

Country Information

Tunisia, officially the Tunisian Republic, is the northern most African country, situated along 1300km of the Mediterranean coastline, bordering Algeria to the west, and Libya to the southeast. The country is divided by the Atlas Mountains into two regions, the well-watered north and the semi-arid south. The total land area of Tunisia is 16.4 million hectares of which an estimated five million hectars is arable land, composing of agricultural products such as olive oil, citrus fruits, cereals and dates.