Global treaty for the regulation of POPs: The Stockholm Convention

Abstract

The success of the negotiations on the POPs Convention after the failure of the negotiations over the climate protocol in the Hague in late November is an important result for international action to protect the earth from damage by chemicals. It shows the countries' real commitment to find compromises for protection of the environment and human health and for the restoration of damage ecosystems on our planet. It deserves to be highlighted that all participants - not only the industrialized countries but also developing countries as well as environmental organizations and the (chemical) industry - regard the conclusion of this convention as a success and that a broad basis for joint action has thus been created. The convention is a signal also because of its useful contents, which includes instruments for the total elimination of 12 POPs in the beginning and of further persistent organic pollutants at a later stage. The basis for a gradual reduction of the increasing pollution of the environment on a global scale is given by mechanisms for subjecting further POPs to the requirements of this Convention in the future.