Moldova, a country covering just 33,800 kilometres, is home to ancient architecture, impressive wine collections and 20 million-year-old coral chains. While emphasizing its charm to boost tourism is on the government of Moldova’s agenda, ensuring the country remains a safe place for its 3.3 million citizens is a top priority.
As part of this effort, Moldova has embarked on a two-year project to strengthen its management of chemicals and waste, supported by the Chemicals and Waste Management Programme of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Identifying chemical and waste hazards
The Moldovan government has long recognized the threats that hazardous chemicals and waste pose to people, animals, and the environment. The country is a party to the Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm and Minamata Conventions, protective UN instruments that deal with key aspects of chemicals and waste management.
In recent years, the country has been consistent in building its regulatory framework to remain in harmony with these international agreements, such as through its laws on chemical hazards and waste.
But despite progress in adopting legislation, the government of Moldova has faced several challenges implementing these laws, meaning it risks falling short of being in compliance with the international agreements to which it has signed.
To fully meet its obligations, Moldova has identified four goals to be achieved through its project with UNEP:
- Strengthen collaboration among stakeholders, directly and indirectly, involved in chemicals and waste management;
- Build the capacities of an array of stakeholders whose roles are key to better managing chemicals and waste;
- Launch the National Programme for Sound Management of Chemicals and develop other tools for the enforcement of national chemicals and waste legislation; and
- Increase public awareness about chemicals usage.
Strengthening collaboration
As Moldavian government officials have noted, legislation can only be successfully implemented if all relevant authorities and stakeholders work in a collaborative and efficient manner. Often though, those involved in chemicals and waste management fail to interact with stakeholders whose work aligns with or is dependent on theirs.
To resolve this, a Steering Committee will kick off the project by first identifying at least 50 stakeholders in the country who are involved in the sound management of chemicals and waste. These professionals will be brought together for an inception workshop and will include representatives from government authorities, as well as business, civil society, research, international organizations, and financing bodies.
The inception workshop will be aimed at presenting the project, establishing a proactive dialogue and gaining the buy-in of these stakeholders to ensure widespread and continuing support of the project. Ongoing collaboration will be ensured through regular networking events such as forums, business brunches, and thematic workshops.
The Steering Committee will then work to strengthen these and other stakeholders’ abilities to ensure the sound management of chemicals and waste, most notably through building their capacities through ongoing training and providing them with the adequate guidance and tools to carry out their work.
Building capacity
Stakeholders in a variety of roles important to chemicals and waste management will be trained so that they can help address emerging issues in an efficient and sustainable manner. Staff from educational and scientific research institutes, as well as government agencies, such as the Ministry of Regional Development and Environment, will be among those who receive training.
Professionals working in businesses within the chemicals and waste industry, such as chemical exporters and importers, will also be educated and trained to ensure compliance from the private sector with Moldova’s chemicals and waste management laws. Training will be offered primarily in the form of in-person and online workshops.
As part of the project, special training will be given to customs officials and other enforcement authorities focused on illegal trafficking and border control. Moldova has a limited chemicals manufacturing capacity and most chemicals in use are imported. Therefore, these staff play an important role in the implementation of legislation governing the placement of chemicals on the market.
National programme
Moldova’s National Programme for Sound Management of Chemicals will include coherent, comprehensive, and realistic action plans to be followed to the year 2030. A joint UNEP/UNITAR guidance document will be the primary reference document upon which Moldova’s programme is based. National guidelines on waste management permits and chemicals authorization will also be crafted.
Additional tools will be developed to aid stakeholders during and after the project, including a chemical inventory. Public authorities have been unable to effectively keep track of chemicals within the country, including those that are potentially hazardous.
Public awareness
While the majority of project activities are geared toward stakeholders whose work involves chemicals and waste management, the government of Moldova is committed to also engaging its citizens. As such, a community right-to-know programme focused on chemicals awareness will be launched as part of this project.
Through the programme, approximately 250,000 people will be educated on chemical risks and safety measures, giving them the knowledge to protect their and their loved one’s health.
By collaborating with various groups to ensure the success of the project, the government of Moldova can move more swiftly towards improving chemicals and waste management in the country to make Moldova a safer place to live and visit.
For further information, please contact the Special Programme Secretariat at unepchemicalsspecialprogramme@un.org.
