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The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) have officially kicked off a US$ 23.5 million Global Chemicals Monitoring Programme (GCMP). The initiative is designed to support the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and the Minamata Convention on Mercury; it aims to reduce global pollution while strengthening developing countries’ capacity to monitor hazardous chemicals and support evidence-based policy making.
Financed by the GEF, the programme is backed by US$ 50 million in co-financing. The GCMP consists of six child projects: one global coordination project and five regional projects focusing on Africa, Asia, Pacific Islands, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Together, they will generate robust scientific evidence on chemical pollution, improve data to inform policy development, strengthen cooperation, and support the long-term monitoring of POPs and mercury. By producing reliable data on POPs and mercury, GCMP contributes towards a better understanding of the toxic chemicals people are exposed to through air, water, and food – especially the most vulnerable groups, including newborns through contaminated breast milk.
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are toxic, carbon-based synthetic chemical substances that resist environmental degradation, bioaccumulate in food chain, and travel long distances across international borders, posing severe threats to human health and ecosystems. WHO places mercury and some of the POPs under the top 10 chemicals and group of chemicals of major public health concern.
Through globally coordinated monitoring of background levels of these pollutants, the programme aims to support countries in measuring progress towards their commitments under the Stockholm and Minamata Conventions and strengthen accountability for achieving global environmental objectives.
The programme is a continuation of the efforts made during the previous GEF-financed Global Monitoring Plan for POPs (GMP) projects under the Stockholm Convention, which has collected data on environmental concentrations of POPs since 2009. The GMP illustrated the effectiveness of global actions on chemicals with declining concentrations of several legacy POPs in many regions, while some newly listed POPs continue to exhibit increasing trends.
“The GCMP builds on the previous Global Monitoring Plan for POPs and now expands to the Minamata Convention. It represents a major step towards strengthening the scientific foundation needed to protect human health and the environment from POPs and mercury, and the GEF is committed to supporting such joint efforts, investments, and collaborations, bringing key stakeholders from across the world together to address harmful impacts of chemicals and waste,” said Anil Sookdeo, Chemicals and Waste Coordinator from the GEF.
“The success of multilateral environmental agreements depends on credible scientific evidence and strong international cooperation. UNEP with its partners, will support countries to strengthen POPs and mercury monitoring systems, improve data comparability, and build technical capacity to better understand and address broader chemical pollution challenges,” said Jacqueline Alvarez, Chief, Chemicals and Health Branch, UNEP.
By strengthening global chemicals monitoring, the GCMP will help in better protecting communities, particularly the most vulnerable ones, while ensuring that decisions under the Stockholm and Minamata Conventions are based on robust and reliable scientific evidence.
