Update of the National Plan for the implementation of the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

This Updated National Plan for the implementation of the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) of the Republic of Poland has the scope to organize and define the research and monitoring of the environmental condition with regard to its pollution by POPs and limit the risk posed by POPs for human and environment. Continuous research and monitoring establish the basis for taking the activities aimed at, among others, eliminating the sources of POPs release, reducing the pollution volume and proper management of existing waste. Scope of research and control is subject to changes resulting from the amended scope of the convention as well as from changing economic and social conditions and scientific and research progress. In addition to the Stockholm Convention, international agreements on POPs include: the POP Protocol and, indirectly, the Basel Convention and the Rotterdam Convention.
The National Plan for the Implementation of the Stockholm Convention in Poland was developed in 2004, under the project GF/POL/01/004-Enabling activities to facilitate early action on the implementation of the Stockholm convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs), carried out by the IEP in Warsaw and financed from the UNIDO funds. The National Plan for the Implementation of the Stockholm Convention in Poland was developed using a financial mechanism provided by the convention – GEF and administered by the World Bank, according to which the developing countries and countries with economic in transition may benefit from the financial support necessary to perform their obligations under the convention. The 2004 Plan was approved by the Minister of the Environment, however it was not transferred to the competent authorities because Poland has not been a party to the Convention yet. On 20 January 2011, the Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention received an update to the National Plan for the Implementation of the Stockholm Convention as a consequence of the convention being ratified by Poland in 2009. On 29 April 2013, the Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention received an update to the National Plan for the Implementation of the Stockholm Convention developed with regard to amendments to the convention introduced in effect of the decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention in 2009 and 2011 (covering 10 new substances by the provisions of the convention). This document is another update to the National Plan for the Implementation of the Stockholm Convention. Its development is required under Article 7 of the Stockholm Convention, due to the need for considering the amendments to the provisions of the convention introduced as a result of the decisions made by the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention in 2013. This update considers also the amendments introduced by decisions made by the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention in 2015.