Global programme for development cooperation
Content:
- Guidance for the development of preventive chemicals control
- Support to initiatives that promotes collaborations between countries and organisations
- Support for participation in the development of global conventions and agreements
- Support for implementation of specific actions from conventions and agreements
- Previous cooperation with UN organisations and UN programmes
Since 2005, the Swedish Chemicals Agency has had several global programmes for development cooperation with funding from Sida. Through the global programmes we have been able to contribute to a number of international projects and the development of several important documents to support low and middle income countries in developing a preventive chemical control. The current global programme started in 2019 and will last to 2024.
The Swedish Chemicals Agency's global programme for development cooperation is a broad programme containing several different types of activities to promote the development of a preventive chemical control in the world. Below are some examples of activities in the programme.
Guidance for the development of preventive chemicals control
One of the goals of the Swedish Chemicals Agency's global programme is to support low- and middle-income countries in developing legislation and institutional capacity for preventive chemical control. We do this by providing guidance and support for the development of legislation and sustainable institutions for national chemical control.
The Swedish Chemicals Agency has developed its own guidance documents on various key aspects of preventive chemical control. These and other guidance materials are also used in workshops in different countries and regions, where the Swedish Chemicals Agency participates. The guidance documents are also used in our other collaborations and in our International Training Programme (ITP).
Read the guidance documents on national chemicals control.
The Swedish Chemicals Agency also gives countries that are qualified for development aid a possibility to get limited support with questions regarding establishment and development of national chemicals control and the application of the guidance documents.
Support to UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
As part of the current global programme, the Swedish Chemicals Agency cooperates with UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). We are supporting a project with the overall objective to contribute to a sustainable food production and conservation of biodiversity, with a reduction of the risks posed by pesticides to human health and the environment. The project aims to contribute to strengthened institutions and strengthened capacity among stakeholders managing pesticides. FAO will review and increase the quality of technical guidance and tools for implementing the International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management. They will also make the guidance more user-friendly and more accessible world-wide and provide trainings in selected countries on the Pesticide Registration Toolkit. The project will also focus on so called Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs), both on a global level and by assisting countries to address HHPs, phasing out these substances and adopting safer and more sustainable alternatives.
This cooperation is building on other projects that the Swedish Chemicals Agency has supported as part of previous global programmes.
Read more about Highly Hazardous Pesticides on the website of FAO
External link.
Support to initiatives that promotes collaborations between countries and organisations
Chemicals control is weakly developed in many low and middle income countries. To share experiences and in some cases share work tasks with other countries with similar circumstances can contribute to give better conditions to develop a preventive chemicals control.
As part of the global programme, support is given to an e-mail based network and an online discussion forum for pesticide issues. University of Cape Town (UCT) is responsible for these networks. UCT is also developing a similar network and discussion forum for industrial and consumer chemicals. The support given to UCT also supports SAPReF (Southern Africa Pesticides Registrars Forum). SAPReF is a technical committee under SADC (Southern African Development Community) and is focusing on pesticides.
Support is also given to a project that is be implemented by Africa Institute. Africa Institute (AI) is the regional center for the Basel and Stockholm conventions for English speaking African countries. Their project will give support to capacity development and sharing of experiences regarding development of chemicals control to a number of countries.
Another project that is supported is implemented by UNEP's regional office for Latin America and the Caribbean, with the aim to support national efforts for the development of capacity for sound chemicals management in countries in the region.
Within the global programme, support is also given to a project implemented by European Environmental Bureau. By establishing a network for civil society organizations in low and middle income countries, the objective is to contribute to strengthened capacity for preventive chemicals control in those countries.
Support for participation in the development of global conventions and agreements
As part of the global programme, the Swedish Chemicals Agency gives financial support enabling representatives from low- and middle-income countries to participate in meetings under global conventions and agreements. This contributes to enable countries to take a more active role in the development and implementation of these agreements. The support is channeled through implementing organisations (e.g. UNEP).
Support for implementation of specific actions from conventions and agreements
Another component of the programme is to give support and guidance related to the implementation of specific actions from conventions and agreement on chemicals. In the current global programme, support is given to the secretariat for the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions (BRS secretariat) for implementation of two projects.
Support for phasing out POPs
One of the projects aims to give guidance and support in the national work with phasing out some of the substances and groups of substances that has rather recently been listed in the Stockholm convention; perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) and short-chained chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs). Information about alternatives will be developed and disseminated. They will also develop guidance for collecting information on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in products and for identifying sectors using industrial POPs, and on labelling for the POPs listed in the convention.
Chemicals & Gender
The second project aims to contribute to an enhanced systematic integration of gender considerations by the BRS secretariat, the parties to the conventions and other key stakeholders in the implementation of the BRS conventions. The project also aims to promote the equal and meaningful participation of women in decision-making. To contribute to this, trainings back-to-back with already planned global and regional workshops will be held.
Chemicals can have different effects on men and women, and exposure to hazardous chemicals can also differ between men and women. In order to reduce the risks associated with chemicals, it is important to increase the knowledge about the exposure and thus the risks for different groups.
In previous global programme support was given to a study of gender aspects in the handling of chemicals and waste, with case studies in Nigeria and Indonesia. The output was a documentary film and a report.
Read more and watch the film "What has gender got to do with chemicals?" External link.
Previous cooperation with UN organisations and UN programmes
In collaboration with the UN Environment (UNEP), the Swedish Chemicals Agency has contributed to the development of a series of information and guidance documents on chemical control that was published in 2019.
Read the series of documents on the UNEP website External link.
In a previous global programme, we have also been able to contribute to the development of other important documents such as guidance on issues such as legislation for preventive chemicals control (the so called LIRA guidance) together with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and guidance on the integration of sound management of chemicals countries' development planning together with the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
Read the UN Environment LIRA guidance on the website of UNEP External link.
Another document produced by UNEP with the support of the Swedish Chemicals Agency is a report on the costs of not having a functioning chemical control, the cost of inaction. The report shows that there are significant costs and it provides financial arguments for why countries should introduce chemical control.
Read the report "Cost of inaction" on the website of UNEP External link.
We have also supported FAO in the previous global programmes. This support has e.g. contributed to the development of guidance on very dangerous pesticides (so-called highly hazardous pesticides) and other guidance documents concerning pesticides.
Read more and find more links to guidance and other documents