As a regional leader in the development and implementation of multilateral environmental agreements on chemicals and waste, Argentina aspires to replicate the situation locally. Under the current institutional arrangements, efficient coordination to manage chemicals and waste falls short of the government’s expectations. Argentina is a Party to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm conventions, in addition to the Minamata Convention. However, the provisions of each convention are managed independently, resulting in an overall lack of systematic and comprehensive mechanisms to establish cooperation, coordination and information exchange.
With funding from UN Environment’s Special Programme, a new directorate will be created to ensure that there is adequate personnel and infrastructure to implement the legal and technical commitments arising from the relevant conventions related to chemicals and waste management to which Argentina is a Party. The new Directorate of Chemicals and Waste will be tasked with promoting cooperation and coordination between the stakeholders, as well as developing a training plan, evaluating Argentina’s participation in the multilateral environmental agreements and SAICM, and designing strategies to combat new and emerging challenges. With a newly consolidated structure, Argentina will be able to build its capacity to manage chemicals and waste both cost-effectively and efficiently.
In addition to the Special Programme, the project is supported by the UN Development Programme-Country Office, the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for South America, and Argentina’s General Directorate of Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship.
For more information please write to special-programme.chemicals@unenvironment.org or visit the Project Database