The Kingdom of Bahrain has officially launched the National Plan for Persistent Organic Chemical Pollutants (POPS).
Oil and Environment Minister, Special Envoy for Climate Affairs, Dr. Mohammed bin Mubarak Daina unveiled the road during a ceremony held at the Gulf Hotel Convention Centre.
The launch ceremony was also attended by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) Regional Director for West Asia Sami Dimassi, ministers. Undersecretaries and other officials.
Dr. Bin Daina stressed Bahrain’s keenness on human health and environmental safety, highlighting the Government’s efforts to achieve this lofty goal through programs.
“This national plan for persistent organic chemical pollutants is in line with Bahrain’s vision, aimed to achieve sustainable development goals, by preserving the environment from any chemical and organic substances that may pose a threat to humans and the environment”, he said.
He noted that Bahrain has signed the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants since 2005, and ratified 12 persistent organic pollutants, which are internationally agreed upon organic chemicals, as they pose a serious global threat to human health and ecosystems.
The Supreme Council for the Environment has also launched a national project to inventory persistent organic pollutants in various sectors, providing high-quality data that reflects human exposure and the environmental concentration of these hazardous chemicals.
The roadmap also aims to achieve Bahrain’s commitments towards the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, with the support of the Global Environment Fund (GEF) and in cooperation Coordination with the United Nations Environment Program – West Asia Office, the University of Bahrain and a number of concerned sectors in the Kingdom.
The national plan includes training programs for a number of engineers and technicians, aimed to familiarize participants with the nature of persistent organic pollutants, in cooperation with international experts specialized in this field.
“The aim is to raise environmental awareness for all workers in the field of chemicals due to the dangers of those materials, and to prevent their spread”, said the minister.