National Implementation Plan for Reduction and Disposal of Persistent Organic Pollutants.

This National Implementation Plan has been developed by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Water Management, under article 7 of the Stockholm Convention to (i) establish the legislation and institutional framework, as well as define the actions that need to be programmed and implemented in order to phase out and destroy the POPs in Albania; and (ii) assist and support central and local authorities, state and private actors to tackle with POPs, POPs containing facilities and POPs polluted areas. The National Implementation Plan contains the following actions and strategies (i) Action Plan: Institutional and Regulatory Strengthening Measures; (ii) Action Plan: POPs Pesticides (including DDT); (iii) Action Plan: PCBs and Equipment Containing PCBs; (iv) Action Plan: Unintentionally Produced POPs by-products; (v) Action Plan: Wastes and Contaminated Sites; (vi) Action Plan: Public Awareness, Information Dissemination and Training; (vii) Strategy: Monitoring; and (viii) Strategy: Information Exchange and Reporting.
A number of strategic objectives are set out for the present NIP; they are (i) eliminate production and use of all intentionally produced POPs i.e., industrial chemicals and pesticides; (ii) eliminate DDT use except if notifying the secretariat of the intention to use DDT in disease vector control programs; (iii) take effective measures to phase out these equipment by the target year 2025 and make determined efforts to achieve ESM of wastes containing PCBs by 2028 at the latest; (iv) minimize and, where feasible, ultimate elimination of the total releases of unintentionally produced POPs from anthropogenic sources; (v) achieve that stockpiles that consist of or contain a POP (in Annex A or B), and wastes, including products and articles upon becoming wastes, that consist of, contain or are contaminated with POPs (in Annex A, B or C) are managed in a manner protective of human health and the environment; (vi) identify hot spots and POPs contaminated sites; and (vii) provide public access to relevant POPs information, overall awareness raising on POPs.