DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS 
                   P R E S S  R E L E A S E
 
SFA-AGR-074-08                                                                                                                                                 

UNIDO IMPLEMENTS GEF PROJECT TO REMOVE PERSISTENT

ORGANIC POLLUTANTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Ambassador Lacanlale (2nd from right) receives Mr. Mohamed Eisa (2nd from L), chief of the Stockholm Convention and Chemicals Management Unit of UNIDO at the Philippine Embassy in Vienna on 15 February.  Mr. Eisa will be in Manila from 18 to 22 February to attend the 1st meeting of the Project Steering Committee that will oversee UNIDO’s implementation of the US$9million GEF project to remove persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Philippines. Also in photo are (from L-R): Second Secretary Roberto Manalo and Minister Meynardo Montealegre.

19 February 2008 - The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) based in Vienna will implement a US$ 9 million GEF (Global Environment Facility) project that aims to remove persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Philippines. The project, which will run for four years, is being implemented by UNIDO in cooperation with the GEF, that provides financial mechanism for the Stockholm Convention, and the Project Steering Committee composed of the Philippine Government represented by the DENR/EMB, Department of Energy, PNOC, and MERALCO, among others. 

 

POPs are chemical substances that persist in the environment, bio-accumulate through the food web, and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment. 

 

The UNIDO project in the Philippines is part of a global programme to introduce and apply a non-combustion technology to destroy significant obsolete PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls) wastes. The project aims to remove barriers to the adoption and implementation of selected technology that meets the Stockholm Convention requirements on the elimination of POPs, and help protect human health and the environment. The project will also make available all technical, economic and financial parameters of selected technology in a comparative, open, and transparent way that would facilitate and provide incentive to the global diffusion of innovative alternative non-combustion technologies. 

  

The immediate project objective is to deploy commercially available and proven non-combustion technology to address 1,500 tonnes of PCBs-containing equipment and wastes. The UNIDO is the implementing agency for the project. END

 

 
 

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