Building capacity for managing hazardous chemicals and wastes

Last week on mission to Bonn, Germany, I met with Dr. Jakob Rhyner, the Vice-Rector of the United Nations University (UNU). It was interesting to note that the UNU’s attention to chemicals and waste issues needs further support. Without capacity building and awareness raising, countries cannot effectively address the sound management of hazardous chemicals and wastes. For example, risk assessments for potential chemical dangers require trained professionals and well-staffed government institutions to come up with solutions. The BRS Secretariat last year trained more than 1000 candidates from all over the world through its webinar programme. Awareness raising and capacity building should also start in our schools. It is never too late to teach our children about recycling, dangerous chemicals and wastes and how much we can do as individual citizens. Why not join one of our webinars or tell us about your efforts to raise awareness of harmful chemicals and waste issues?

Launch of Executive Secretaries Blog

Since I joined the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Secretariat as Executive Secretary in October 2014, I have been impressed by the work done so far to advance the hazardous chemicals and waste agenda. Chemicals make up the basis of our daily lives, and wastes are a result of this. Imagine morning breakfast without bread and margarine; imagine heading to work without shirts or blouses? Today our world makes use in one way or another of about 43 million chemicals in agriculture, housing, transportation, medicine, textiles and telecommunications, to name a few. Many of these chemicals are beneficial to humans and biodiversity but some have negative impacts on our health and environment, causing serious problems that require some form of international intervention. My blog will hopefully bring those issues into our homes, our communities and our governments. I thank you for your contributions.