The International POPs Elimination Network’s 10th Anniversary Year
essor Jamidu Katima
IPEN Co-Chairs
N
Professor Jamidu Katima
ow over 10 years old, IPEN has remained a strong and inclusive global network, with a mission of a toxics‐free future shared amongst its 700 + non‐ governmental and civil society Participating Organizations (POs). Because of all the energy, focus and effort of its POs and Boards, IPEN closed the last decade with a number of major successes including: 9 new substances listed to the Stockholm Convention for global ban and phase‐out, over 1,000 NGOs joining the SAICM Outreach Campaign, Regional Action Plans, campaigns on lead and mercury, and much more.
Dr. Mariann Lloyd-Smith
Working Together for a Toxic Free Future
IP PEN Mission & & Focus: T Toxics‐F Free Futture
IPEN is aa global netw work of more tthan 700 ublic interestt non‐governmental organ nizations pu wo orking togeth her for a world in which chemicals are no longer produced or ussed in ways th hat harm uman health and the enviironment, and where hu PO OPs and chemicals of eq quivalent con ncern no longer pollute o our local and global enviro onments, nd no longer ccontaminate our communiities, our an food, our bodies, or the bo odies of our children nd future geneerations. an IPEN meembership inccludes a diverrse range ns (POs), with h groups off Participatingg Organization baased in over 100 countriess. Some of th he topics that IPEN NGOs/CSOs currently focus on include: nvironmental protection, public healtth, labor en isssues, women n’s and chiildren’s heallth, and Indigenous Peo oples’ rights. IPEN POs comprise, c mongst otherrs, peasant farmers, fish her folk, am do octors, lawyyers, engineeers, activistts, and orrganizers. Theey include maany members who are scientists and teechnical expeerts in fields as diverse ass human healtth, agriculturee, waste manaagement, ch hemical asssessment and community en ngagement. Moreover, M th hese NGOs work at diffferent leveels, includin ng the grassroots, co ommunity, accademic, national, regio onal and intternational levels. In order to advancee our mission n, IPEN’s mode of operattion includes NGO networkking, and onal and seecuring NGO participation in internatio naational policyy development, leveragging the po olicies to mob bilize resourcees and put thee policies intto action at the local and d national levvel. IPEN Co onnects, Collaaborates, Con ntributes and d Creates Ch hange, no oting:
nnects: By brringing togeth her NGOs and d Con CSOs from around the w world that share the samee nd have thee vision for a toxic‐free future an g of toxics elimination. This T includes,, common goal for exam mple: conven ning internaational NGO O meetings/eevents, coo ordinating online o NGO O discussionss and inforrmation exch hanges, and d translating information. Colllaborates: Byy sharing ourr experience,, ideas and expertise to raise awareness of toxicc chemical isssues and build the capacity to resolvee them. This includes, ffor example e: conveningg nal, regional, and local NGO skill‐sharess internation and trainin ngs; supportin ng NGOs in th heir efforts to o carry out awareness‐raising activitie es; circulatingg ng new pub blications and d data; and d and postin partnering with other Networks to addresss needs.. specific issues and ntributes: By identifying lo ocal, nationall Con and region nal public inteerest chemical issues and d elevating them t into th he global che emical policyy arena via interventionss in relevant internationall forums. This includes, for examplle: preparingg policy possition papers; promoting civil societyy participatio on in decission‐making and policyy developmeent; encouragging NGOs to ccommunicatee with their national goveernmental representativess upporting and d participatingg on policy issues; and su at global forums.. in acttions eates Changee: By puttingg policy into o Cre practice; helping h our p participating organizationss educate and a empoweer their com mmunities to o enable th he implemen ntation of policies and d projects th hat raise awarreness and shift policy into o action. This ensures that words from f politicall nto change on n agreementts are actuallyy translated in the local and a national levels. This includes, forr example: mobilizing m ressources for NGOs N on thee ground to address theeir priority environmentall health /chemical safetyy concerns; and educatingg out how theey may leverrage existingg NGOs abo internation nal policies to o elevate their work to thee national levvel and/or acccess financial resources.
IPEN continually encourages new NGOs to join the Network, which is lead by two Co‐Chairs, and advised by a regionally and gender balanced Steering and Executive Committee. IPEN also consists of a global Secretariat and eight Regional Hubs, which function in Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish, to support Network activities. IPEN was established in 1998 to push for a strong POPs Treaty known as the Stockholm Convention, and we have since expanded our international policy work to include the Rotterdam and Basel Conventions, and other international processes such as the Global Mercury Treaty process and the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). In order to support our work in the policy arena, IPEN has several thematic working groups, which support specific campaigns, including: Dioxin, Wastes, PCB, BFRs & Stockpiles Working Group: focusing on dioxin releases and waste issues, plus low POPs and Brominated Flame Retardants waste; Community Monitoring Working Group: focusing on bio‐monitoring and new POPs; POPs Pesticides Working Group: focusing on pesticide issues, including the listed and candidate POPs to the Stockholm Convention; and Heavy Metals Working Group: focusing on mercury and lead.
2009 Achievements, Activities & Developments Overview IPEN’s 2009 achievements, activities and developments are summarized below, noting most supporting information is available online at www.ipen.org.
Two IPENers win the Goldman Prize IPENers Olga Speranskaya and Yuyun Ismawati were awarded the 2009 Goldman Environment Prize for their work with communities and grassroots organizations in protecting human health and the environment from toxic chemicals and waste. This award is a celebration for all of IPEN and all those devoting energy, time and spirit to ensuring healthy communities and a future where children are born free from toxics. Olga Speranskaya formed a civil society network that has grown to include NGO groups, governmental bodies and academia in 11 former Soviet states. She has focused on phasing out toxic chemicals, identifying hazardous stockpiles and reducing harmful exposures to human health and the environment. Olga has successfully transformed the NGO community in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia region into a potent, participatory force working to identify and eliminate the Soviet legacy of toxic chemicals in the environment. Yuyun Ismawati, since 1996, has used her engineering skills to work with poor communities to design safe and well‐ coordinated waste management initiatives,
wh hile protectiing environm mental healtth and ecconomic benefits for local p people. In June 2000, Yu uyun founded d her own NGO, N Bali Fokus, to exxpand herr commun nity‐based urban en nvironmental managemeent program m into replicable initiatives for Indonesia. In 2008, Yu uyun expand ded her areea of interest by esstablishing Ind donesia's Toxxics‐Free Netw work to wo ork against th he spread of to oxic substancees from bu urning wastess, pesticides, and heavy metals su uch as mercuryy. The work of both theese women to o protect ommunities and a the environment fro om toxic co ch hemicals and hazardous waste w is truly inspiring an nd this award well earned.
* NOTE: Every country in blue has an NGO thatt obal Outreach h Campaign endorsed tthe SAICM Glo
Reead about theeir incredible w work on the G Goldman Prrize website an nd share it with others: Go oldman Prize w website: www w.goldmanprizze.org/
Ciivil societyy works fo or a toxicss‐free fu uture Togetherr with our Campaign partner neetworks, IPEN successfully iimplemented a Global Ou utreach Camp paign which engaged strateegic NGO paartners from the health and labor sectors, invvolved over 1,000 NGO Os in 113 countries, co oordinated 52 5 local NG GO awarenesss‐raising acctivities, pro oduced coree NGO edu ucational material in six languages, an nd released a Citizens’ p Reeport illustraating NGO perspectives on the cu urrent state off chemical safety.
Global The SAICM1 Outreach Campaaign and Citizzens’ Reporrt were deesigned to enhance the NG GO impact at the 2nd Intternational Conferencee on C Chemicals Management (ICCM2), and elevate our issues of oncern. co
IPEN Educaational Bookleets For more information n and to do ownload thee bove) in various languages,, Educationaal Booklets (ab see the website:: campaign n/ www.ipen..org/campaign
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S Strategic Approa ach to Internatio onal Chemicals Ma anagement
Keep the Promise Campaign In preparation for the global Stockholm Convention meeting (COP4), IPEN launched a Keep the Promise Campaign, mobilizing Working Group resources to conduct local activities, draft COP4 reports and prepare interventions. This Campaign included: convening an African NGO DDT workshop in April 2009 in Tanzania; conducting a global breast‐milk monitoring project together with Commonweal in the US; and producing a New POPs guide and Endosulfan Reports in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The IPEN COP4 Team included over 20 IPENers with special outreach to Arctic Indigenous Peoples, developing country NGOs and technical experts
Ban on nine dangerous substances in more than 160 countries IPEN NGOs have campaigned for years to ban the most dangerous chemical substances, known as POPs. In 2009, their efforts were rewarded when nine new substances were listed in the Stockholm Convention for global ban and phase‐out in more than 160 countries.2 The substances include lindane (used in lice shampoo) and its isomers, three brominated flame retardants found in furniture and electronic equipment, PFOS, which is found in Scotchguard and other surface treatments, and two substances no longer produced intentionally, chlordecone (a pesticide) and pentachlorobenzene (a solvent used like PCBs).
an IPEN participating organization from India, Toxics Link, to form a partnership to promote the global phase‐out of lead in paints.3 To our knowledge, this is the first time a NGO proposal has been adopted for global action by governments and all stakeholders in an UN process on chemicals. Furthermore, the proposal was endorsed by the G8 in April4 and by the industry itself, via the International Paint and Printing Ink Council in May 2009.5
One of the world’s worst pesticides gets named for global action IPEN NGOs have campaigned for years to ban endosulfan, a highly toxic pesticide that kills people, contaminates the food chain, and persists in the environment. IPEN participated in the expert group of the Stockholm Convention (POPs Review Committee or POPRC) to provide technical evidence and also serve as the conscience of the Committee by encouraging Members to make precautionary decisions that are protective of human health and ecosystems. In October, the POPRC concluded that, “…endosulfan is likely, as a result of its long‐range environmental transport, to lead to significant adverse human health and environmental effects, such that global action is warranted.” This confirms scientific agreement that endosulfan is one of the world’s worst chemicals and needs action. IPEN will now work to get endosulfan listed in the treaty in 2011.
IPEN NGO proposal to eliminate lead in paint adopted by the global community More than 100 countries at the Second International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM2) endorsed a proposal from This brings the number of substances covered by the treaty to 21.
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http://www.ipen.org/ipenweb/news/paint.html
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http://www.ipen.org/ipenweb/documents/work%20docume nts/env090424-summary.pdf 5
http://www.ipen.org/ipenweb/documents/work%20docume nts/leadinpaint_ippic.pdf
Pushing for national and global
action on lead and mercury
residential paints that were being widely produced and sold, exposing children and communities to this toxic substance. A report on the sampling activity was compiled, and the Executive Summary was released at ICCM210 in May. National activities to call attention to the results of the report began shortly thereafter. On December 7th, the global campaign “Children First: Eliminate Lead in Paint” was launched. Each of the 10 IPENers involved in the sampling activity has begun or advanced national campaigns around this theme in order to raise consumer awareness and seek national bans on lead paint.
Responding to emerging issues
IPEN first began discussing methyl mercury in 1998 as a possible substance to be included in the Stockholm Convention. Years of discussion and concern over heavy metals led IPEN to participate in a push for a mercury treaty and finally form a Heavy Metals Working Group (HMWG) in 2009. The same year, the UNEP6 Governing Council decided to begin negotiations for a mercury treaty in 2010 and finish them by 2013. In 2009, the HMWG developed and received network endorsement of a unifying policy document, IPEN Views of a Global Mercury Treaty, which is now available in Arabic, English, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. 7 The same year, IPEN NGO ARNIKA (Czech Republic), coordinated a global survey with IPEN NGOs in eight countries to collect consumer information and data on mercury‐containing products and their alternatives.8 The final report will be released in early 2010 to help launch IPEN’s Mercury Free campaign, which will raise public awareness and build support for a strong mercury treaty.
IPEN NGOs around the world have worked to participate in decision‐making at the local and national levels in plans for chemical bans, cleanup of contaminated sites, waste management, implementation of treaties, and many other initiatives. At the global level, IPEN NGOs have participated in important expert committees of the Stockholm Convention that evaluate alternatives to DDT, develop methods to inventory dioxin and other similar substances, and evaluate substances for addition to the treaty. IPEN has also participated extensively in the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). The “Bureau” is the institution that guides an international agreement, makes important decisions, and helps plan global meetings. Typically, bureaus contain government representatives from each UN region. However, IPEN worked at the global SAICM meeting in May to incorporate civil society, and the delegates broke new ground by incorporating NGOs into the SAICM Bureau as observers, but with the full ability to participate in decision‐ making discussions. This is a landmark achievement by IPEN, which illustrates IPEN’s political, legal and professional capacity to secure a role for public interest representatives in a major international policy process. Furthermore, it also advances the role of civil society in the global chemicals agenda.
Though lead was removed from gasoline in many countries, IPEN NGOs questioned whether it was still widely used in household paint in developing countries. Toxics Link, an IPEN participating organization from India, partnered with IPEN to organize a study of lead in paints from India and ten additional countries in all regions of the world.9 The results found high lead levels in United Nations Environment Programme 7 http://www.ipen.org/ipenweb/work/hg.html 8 Brazil, China, India, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Russia, and Senegal 9 Belarus, Brazil, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines ,Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Thailand
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Second International Conference on Chemicals Management
NGO particcipation in N n decision n‐ m making In 2009, coun ntries pushed d for action on four em merging policcy issues att the global SAICM meeting: lead in paint, ch hemicals in products, p eleectronic wasste, and naanotechnologgy. IPEN paarticipated viggorously in th he discussionss to push for authentic actions a on th hese issues and a now n each of acctively works tto develop real solutions in the four areas.
nology: IPEN formed a Nano Workingg Nanotechn Group which has produ uced educatio onal materialss ntions to both h and severaal submissionss and interven the SAICM and OECD disscussions sincce ICCM2. Thee ollaborated with IPEN NGO O Nano Workking Group co colleagues in Africa and d Latin Americca to proposee n regional statements on n and successfully obtain n total, thesee efforts to address the ttechnology. In he concerns of o more than n statementss represent th 80 countriees.
oxics Link and IPEN Lead in Paint: To posed the global successsfully prop eliminaation of lead paint. As a result, a Global Partnership to Eliminate Lead in d Health Paint, hosted by the World U will laaunch in Organiization and UNEP, early 2 2010 with a m membership co omprised of governments, ind dustry and NG GOs. The H Metalss Working Grroup will IPEN Heavy work actively in the partnersship and world for continue campaignss around the w paint. eliminaation of lead p
Chemicals in Produ ucts (CiP): IPEEN has a ommittee representative on the project co will push for co onsumer rightt to know who w and acccess to inforrmation on chemicals c in prod ducts. Upcom ming work will develop case studies on chemicals in toys, m materials, cosmetics, consttruction onic productss and food co ontainers electro and paackaging.
E‐wastte: UN organizations estim mate that 40 million tons of ee‐waste will evventually p in developing countries.. IPENers end up have worked w tireleessly on this issue for many years, and in 2009, the IPEN E‐ oup collaborated with waste Working Gro NGO colleagues in Asia‐Paciific and Centraal and Eastern Europe to propose and successfully obtain regional ments on effforts to addrress this statem toxic p problem. In to otal, these staatements represent the conceerns of more than 70 countrries.
IPEN Development IPEN continues to scale up its operation base in Sweden, noting that 2009 marked the second year of IPEN’s formal registration. This has enabled IPEN to gain more control of its current resources, as well as access new resources independently, to promote long‐term sustainability. In addition to work on ongoing international policy efforts, in 2009 IPEN completed a two year planning exercise. After a series of regional surveys and discussions, and with over 200 NGOs from 82 countries providing feedback and guidance, all IPEN Regional Hubs finalized their 2009‐2012 action plans. This bottom‐up approach provides guidance to IPEN on our members’ needs, priorities, and opportunities for future activities. Building on the International POPs Elimination Project (IPEP) experience, Regional Action Plans and SAICM Global Outreach Campaign, a 2010‐2012 outlook will focus on: contributing to international chemical policy design; implementing the Regional Action Plans; developing an International SAICM Implementation Program (ISIP) to promote SAICM awareness and implementation; and educating and engaging NGOs to contribute to the Global Mercury Treaty.
Communications In April, IPEN completed an online 6‐minute Toxics‐Free Future animation that introduces the POPs problem in an easy to follow narrative with visuals, which IPEN NGOs can download and utilize for local awareness‐raising activities. IPEN maintains a global website to keep members of the network and the general public informed about its activities. The website allows for electronic publication of the IPEN Newsletter, Booklets and Reports. There is also in‐depth data on the many Global Projects undertaken by IPEN member organisations.
http://www.ipen.org
IPEN Team
IPEN Toxics Free Future Forum (Kerala, India)
IPEN Co‐Chairs Professor Jamidu Katima Dr. Mariann Lloyd‐Smith
IPEN Secretariat Björn Beeler Joe DiGangi Jennifer Federico Per Rosander IPEN Secretariat: PO Box 7256 SE‐402 35, Göteborg, Sweden website: www.ipen.org |tel: +46 31 799 9474 |email: ipen@ipen.org