Stages of Activity

PREPARATION

Once a country is selected to participate in the ASP, and the necessary legal and programmatic requirements and agreements are achieved, a number of preparatory activities are undertaken to get the country programme underway:

• Country ASP Project Management Unit (PMU) is established
• Country Environmental Social Assessment (CESA) is prepared by the PMU, and reviewed and approved by the implementing partners
• NGO network is established, and a National Coordinator is identifed to work alongside the PMU
• Country ASP is officially launched
• ASP Funding is allocated

FIELD OPERATIONS

Inventory Training - Tunisia

Inventory: A country project begins with a detailed national inventory of stocks and their locations. Trained personnel carry out the inventory and store the information in the Obsolete Pesticide Management System (OPMS). a web-based database software tool developed by FAO and now used in Eritrea, Mali, and Tunisia to store inventory data and conduct environmental risk assessments for obsolete pesticide sites and stores.

Safeguard: Trained personnel carry out the clean-up activities of the identified stockpiles with support from the FAO hosted Techical Support Unit, responsible for ensuring the technical inputs meet the agreed standards of the programme. The TSU has developed a series of technical guidelines to assist country teams in this activity.

Disposal: The ASP requires that wastes are disposed of in line with international, regional and national legislation, regulations and standards. The ASP countries will make decisions on how to disposal of obsolete pesticide stocks after they have been safeguarded, and a strategic study of Disposal Technology Options by WWF will clarify, update, review and summarise the options available, whilst considering socio-economic issues. This study is currently underway and the report will be available shortly. In the meantime, high temperature incineration in Europe can meet the necessary standards for disposal and environmental protection, and has been used for pesticide disposal.

PREVENTION

Recognised as important as disposal, the prevention measures include promoting safe agricultural management practices, reduced pesticide use, and integrated pest management (IPM). Internationally, ASP partners have raised the issues of implementing pesticide regulation and promotion of less hazardous forms of pesticide control through lobbying, meetings and hosting side events at global chemical conventions. At a country level, through the NGO network, a programme of ecotoxicological training, hosted by PAN, has been established to raise awareness among civil society. The ASP prevention activities aim to support the principles of the Millennium Development Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability, in the participating ASP countries.

CAPACITY BUILDING

This is an ongoing activity, initiated when a country joins the ASP. Achieved through training programmes, workshops and awareness raising activities with government officials, journalists, farmers unions, community based groups, businesses, general public, and school children. Through strategic communications the messages of the risks of obsolete pesticide stockpiles, the ASP clean-up and disposal activities, and the preventative measures available, are disseminated widely to targeted audiences.