The São Tomé et Príncipe National Implementation Plan for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

This National Implementation Plan (NIP) was developed by the Ministry of Infrastructures, Natural Resources and Environment in cooperation with several institutions and national partners, from the Government, the civil society, with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and support from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. The National Implementation Plan (NIP) is the strategy document for the implementation of Stockholm Convention on POPs. Its objective is: (i) Improve knowledge on POPs in order to eliminate/reduce their local sources and quantities of waste; (ii) Have adapted national legislation specifically targeting POPs and have it implemented; (iii) Strengthen the capacities of key partners in the environmentally sound management of POPs and coordinate their activities; (iv) To assure the exchange of information on implementing measures and to participate in international cooperation in the fight against POPs.
Ten years after the first inventory had been made and with the introduction of new POPs in the Convention list, it was necessary to update the referred inventory in order to prepare a new strategy and the action plan capable of dealing with the new reality and to prepare a national implementation plan (NIP) of the Convention, revised and updated. Based on the results of the inventory, priority actions for the Action Plan have been identified. In the agriculture sector, concerning POPs listed in Annex A to the Stockholm Convention, namely Pesticides (Endrin, Dieldrin, Hepptachlor, Mirex, Toxaphene, Aldrin) and New POPs Pesticides (endosulfan, and lindane), Methyl Bromide (Fumigant) are no longer imported. The 23 POPs substances of Stockholm Convention are listed in three annexes: Annex A - elimination: prohibited use and commitment to be disposed of within specified time limits; Annex B - restriction: some uses allowed as an acceptable purpose, if there is no viable substitute; Annex C - unintentional production: products that can be generated via combustion processes or intermediates in industrial chemical reactions.