15 November 2010, Brussels EU Parliament:

Ria Oomen-Ruijten, Esther de Lange and Dan Jørgensen, Members of European Parliament urge 5 Directors General of EU Commission to take concrete steps to develop and Action Plan to fight obsolete pesticides in the neighbouring partner countries:

After the Mini-Hearing on Obsolete Pesticides in Eastern European Countries, the Caucasus and Central Asian Countries in the European Parliament on 29 of June 2010, IHPA had sent a letter requesting 5 EU Director Generals to come forward with a plan on Obsolete Pesticides. On 20 October 2010, EU Commissioner Karel Kovanda answered positively that:
“The European Commission is fully aware of the environment and health concerns posed by obsolete pesticides and other unused hazardous chemicals in the region.

Action is taken within the EU’s existing policy framework, i.e. the European Neighbourhood Policy and the EU-Central Asia Strategy, to raise awareness in partner countries, and promote a strategic and legislative approach.

Building on existing initiatives and coordination with local and international institutions, the European Commission is also examining possibilities for granting financial assistance in the context of existing instruments, to complement activities of other donors already active in this field.”

However, no concrete actions have not been brought forward by Mr. Kovanda in his letter. Therefore the Ria Oomen-Ruijten, Esther de Lange and Dan Jørgensen, Members of European Parliament express clearly in their letter:
“We believe, however, that concrete steps are needed to bring the active donors together and call on the Commission to develop an Action Plan to fight obsolete pesticides in our neighbouring partner countries”

For further details see appended:

Letter on Obsolete Pesticides to Mr Kovanda – 15.11.2010

Status of obsolete stockpiles of pesticides in EECCA Countries: sharing experience of EU countries

07 – 09 September, 2011, Gabala, Republic of Azerbaijan

Dear all,
We have the pleasure to announce the 11th International HCH and Pesticides Forum, to be held from 07 – 09 September, 2011, in Gabala, the beautiful town in the mountains of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

During my visit at the end of September and beginning of October, all stakeholders have shown full commitment and strong engagement. Azerbaijani hosts and I are confident that the Forum will be a success, showing the achievements in the field the country has made.

The Special Forum website (http://www.hchforum.com) is now under construction, and from 10th of December 2010 you will be able to register.
Further all IHPA newsletter readers will be updated on the 2nd announcement and all new developments.
So we are waiting for you to join us and move forward in the solution of obsolete and POPs pesticides in September in Azerbaijan. We count on you!

With kind regards,
John Vijgen,
Director IHPA

Visit the 11th International HCH and Pesticides Forum website and download 1st Announcement:

26 August 2010, IHPA requests 5 EU Director Generals to come forward with a plan on Obsolete Pesticides in Eastern European Countries, the Caucasus and Central Asian Countries

IHPA has officially requested 5 EU Director Generals (DG Development Director-General Mr. Fokion Fotiadis, DG Environment, Director-General Karl Falkenberg, DG External Relations: Acting Director-General Karel Kovanda, DG Europe Aid: Director-General Koos Richelle and DG Enterprise: Director-General Heinz Zourek) to come forward with a plan on Obsolete Pesticides in Eastern European Countries, the Caucasus and Central Asian Countries

In the letter IHPA further states :

The increasing number of emergency cases that have come up recently, in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine and which have been presented during the Hearing, urge for a well planned action program in order to firstly obtain a complete overview of the problems in each of the countries, assess the higher and lower risks of the various locations and take fast actions where needed, and invite and urge the countries concerned to develop proper plans in order to deal with the other locations in the long run.

Working on obsolete pesticides over the past 18 years, we conclude that at this moment the combination of urgent cases, proven commitment of local politicians and willingness to join forces in joint approaches create a unique opportunity to accelerate the solving of the problem of obsolete pesticides. But we also realize that is only possible with a substantial support of the EU. We are at the opinion that non-action could be evaluated afterwards as a mistake from as well an environmental as cost point of view.

For further details see appended:

Letter to Development Director-General Mr. Fokion Fotiadis

There are different ways to donate:

• Simply donate a small sum from 100 € to 1000 € or whatever you feel could help

• Donate to a specific issue or project, which can be activities you personally or your organization would like to start up in a specific country or region of that country, where problems of obsolete and POPs pesticides need urgent attention

• Donate special trainings on inventory, repackaging of obsolete and POPs pesticides and public awareness which we organize together with our partners

• Donate on ongoing projects or projects under preparation or in start-up phase, which IHPA implements with its partners (Tauw, Milieukontakt International, Stichting Natuur en Milieu, Green Cross http://obsoletepesticides.net/ ) or which IHPA implements for UN or other organizations

• Donate for the organization of the International HCH and Pesticides Forum, which is held bi-annually and entirely financed by donors and it the main international event on obsolete and POPs pesticides on the globe

You can discuss these issues with us by phoning us +4545410321 or mailing us at john.vijgen@ihpa.info and we will call you back and discuss your ideas.

Mini-Hearing on Obsolete Pesticides in Eastern European Countries, the Caucasus and Central Asian Countries in the European Parliament on 29 of June 2010

Please find the Conclusions of the mini-hearing on “Obsolete pesticides” and other presentations according to programme:

• Ria Oomen-Ruijten, MEP – Obsolete pesticides Mini Hearing – 29 June 2010 – European Parliament ASP 3 E 2
• OSCE Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, Armenia – Nubarashen POPs pesticides burial site in Armenia. Emergency case
• Richard Thompson, Joergen Maersk Pedersen, FAO – Obsolete Pesticides in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia
• First Deputy Minister Vitalii Boot, Oleksander Ovdiienko, Ministry of Emergency, Ukraine
  1. Ecological emergency zone in Kalush: current situation and mitigation of the consequences – presentation
  2. Speech on “Ecological disaster area in Kalush: current status and further mitigation of the consequences”
• Marta Ciraj, Ministry of Health, Slovenia – Slovenian initiative WHA Resolution + Obsolete Pesticides Proposal in Danube STRATEGY
• Mariana Grama, Ion Barbarasa, Valentin Plesca, Moldova – Initiatives and actions on the elimination of obsolete pesticides in the Republic of Moldova
• Gulchera Aliyeva, ECORES, Azerbaijan – Emergency issues related with obsolete pesticides in Azerbaijan Republic
• John Vijgen, IHPA – EU Commission Plan together with stakeholders on Obsolete Pesticides from paper to reality
• Christian Egenhofer, CEPS – Concrete Steps for Implementation of Action Plan on OPs
• Andrew Murphy, EU Commission, DG Environment
• Statements by Elena Manvelyan , AWHHE, Armenia
• Questions during Mini-Hearing
• CONCLUSIONS and ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN