National Implementation Plan for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants for Zimbabwe.

The National Implementation Plan (NIP) has been produced as a guiding document of how Zimbabwe will meet its obligations under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The NIP, which is a requirement under Article 7 of the Convention, identifies Zimbabwe’s priority issues concerning POPs, and sets out action plans for addressing the priority issues.
The main pieces of legislation for environmental management in general, and POPs in particular, are the Environmental Management Act which provides for the management of general waste, hazardous waste and hazardous substances; the Fertilizer, Farm Feeds and Remedies Act which provides for the registration of pesticides, and the Factories and Works Act which provides for the regulation of conditions of work in the factories. There are also non-regulatory mechanisms for environmental and chemicals management; these include environmentally sound technologies (formerly known as, and encompassing Cleaner Production), which employ resource use efficiency to reduce waste, recover materials for reuse, and reduce the emissions of certain chemicals. There are many different players in chemical management, both Governmental and Non-Governmental: Ministry of Health and Child Welfare in malaria control and chemical analysis of various substances; the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development in pesticides registration, analysis of pesticides residues and control of animal pests and diseases; Environmental Management Agency which oversees the management of hazardous substances, hazardous waste and general waste and runs an analytical laboratory; etc.
The NIP then identifies: 1) the Specific Action plans for General Chemicals Management Issues (Establishment and development of POPs risk monitoring and evaluation for POPs risks to human health and the environment; reviewing current legislation on hazardous chemicals; development and implementation of effective communications strategy to raise POPs; development of a national hazardous chemicals management policy); 2) Specific Action Plans to Address Obsolete Pesticides Issues (Raising public awareness on POPs and pesticide management issues; establishing and implementing a monitoring programme to monitor and evaluate impact of awareness raising; conducting a full scale national inventory of obsolete pesticides; establishment of central obsolete pesticides storage areas; implementation of sound environmental management of obsolete pesticides through safeguarding, clean-up of contaminated sites & disposal of obsolete pesticide and associated materials; building capacity for sound pest and pesticide management, including the incorporation of IPM; creation of a Central Pesticides Management Database). 3) Specific Action Plans to Address DDT Usage (Building capacity for the promotion and application of alternatives to DDT in vector management, focusing on gradually phasing out DDT use in vector management). 4) Specific Action Plans to Address PCBs Issues (Developing and implementing a comprehensive awareness programme on PCBs and their associated risks; establishment and implementation of a monitoring programme to monitor and evaluate impact of awareness programmes; conducting a comprehensive/ full scale national inventory of PCB-containing or contaminated equipment and oil; exploring the most feasible option for PCB destruction in Zimbabwe or in the region and preparing for a PCB disposal programme (or participating in a regional PCB project); strengthening the policy and legal framework for PCB management, to include the prohibition of the importation, exportation, manufacturing, use and sale of PCB-contaminated equipment and oils).
Specific Action Plans to Address U-POPs Issues are: improvement of hazardous waste management; reduction of the hectarage burnt by veld fires; reduction of the emissions of fossil fuel power stations; adoption by all health facilities, of BEP in their incinerators and evaluation of the option to adopt BAT where feasible; implementation of BEP and evaluation of the options; assessment of consumption of clay by pregnant woman and other population groups and monitoring of the related clay quarries; conducting an inventory of all POPs- and hazardous chemicals- contaminated sites.