The Stockholm Convention, Global Monitoring Plan and its Implementation in Regional and Global Monitoring Reports

Abstract

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) is a global legally binding agreement focusing on the protection of health and the environment from negative impact of listed manmade chemicals, persistent organic pollutants. The Convention required the development and regular update of National Implementation Plans, periodic national reporting (Art. 15), and the establishment of other expert frameworks for the assessment of candidate chemicals (Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee [POPRC]). For the evaluation of the effectiveness (Art. 16) it was required to develop a mechanism to identify and compile and/or a mechanism capable of generating coordinated, harmonized, and validated information on changes in levels of its target chemicals over time. The Global Monitoring Plan (GMP) is the mechanism put in place in 2007 that so far produced three sets of regional monitoring reports containing current findings on POPs concentrations in individual UN regions and subsequently, three global reports synthesizing the available information on the global scale. POPs data reported by the Regional Organization Groups (ROGs) in these reports are key pillars and inputs into the effectiveness evaluation that periodically assesses outputs of measures adopted in the Stockholm Convention. Activities under the GMP are governed by its implementation plan, supported by the technical Guidance on the Global Monitoring Plan and overseen by experts organized in the Regional Organization Groups and in the Global Coordination Group. As the Stockholm Convention expands its scope over time, it is necessary to continuously update the technical knowledge and guidance but also to ensure sustainability of POPs monitoring activities. Availability and continuity of long-term POPs monitoring programmes and their data is decisive for global decision-making.