IPEP PROJECT:


IPEP Final Performance Report - web and .pdf

The International POPs Elimination Project:

The IPEP Project grew out of the important role that NGOs and civil society in many developing countries and countries in transition have played in recent years in raising awareness and promoting appropriate policies for the protection of health and the environment from chemicals and wastes. More specifically, this Project builds on the involvement of NGOs in promoting the elimination of POPs, and builds further on the important role played by NGOs from many countries in the negotiation of a strong and effective Stockholm Convention.

IPEP will increase the capacity of NGOs in many developing countries and countries in transition to play a constructive and effective role in Stockholm Convention implementation. Increased NGO capacity will, in turn, increase awareness of POPs and the Stockholm Convention in these countries and enhance the ability of these countries to achieve the objectives of the Convention. The Project will run for two years, so its work will likely be complete by the first Stockholm Convention Conference of the Parties, or soon thereafter.



IPEP Project Activities:

Three principal types of activities will be supported by IPEP: participation in the National Implementation Plan, training and awareness workshops, and public information and awareness campaigns.

  • NGOs may receive IPEP support to participate in government-sponsored National Implementation Plan preparation activities and/or to provide substantive and useful informational inputs into the process.

  • IPEP will also support training and awareness workshops to increase knowledge about POPs and related issues among participants, help build a base of support for the Stockholm Convention within the country, and, in many cases, help pave the way for further POPs-related activities. The audience for these workshops is not the general public. Instead, the workshop audiences could include sectoral leaders, academics, NGOs, specific impacted communities, and/or government personnel.

  • Public information and campaign activities may be intended to build understanding among the media and sectors of the public of the benefits of supporting, ratifying, and implementing the Stockholm Convention. Other campaigns may seek to generate a strong national or district response to a more narrowly focused, POPs-related issue that illustrates the broader concerns associated with POPs.

    • IPEP has established this website to present the results of the project activities. The site will contain country situation reports, policy briefs, hotspot reports, and regional reports as well as summaries of National Implementation Plan activities and other project activities and campaigns. In addition, the site could contain links to POPs-related information and other resources. The information will be multi-lingual and regularly updated. The website will connect the simultaneous activities in 40 countries and provide valuable NGO-generated information for global use.



    IPEP Regional Hubs:

    IPEP regional coordination will take place in eight NGOs working as Regional Hubs in five of the six UN languages (Arabic, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.) Each Hub will coordinate with other NGOs working on chemical safety issues within its country and at least four other countries within its region.

    The Regional Hub will match NGOs in the region to possible IPEP activities, and will then work with identified NGOs to prepare a Project Activity Memorandum that describes an IPEP Activity that the NGO has an interest in working on, including well-identified outputs, indicators, deadlines, and a payment schedule. In most cases, the payment will be in the national currency and will be delivered either by direct wire transfer to the NGO’s bank account or through the country UNDP office.

    The regions and NGOs where IPEP Hubs will be located are:

    Anglophone Africa: Agenda for Environment and Responsible Development, Tanzania

    Central and Eastern Europe: Arnika, Czech Republic

    Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia: Eco Accord, Russia

    Francophone Africa: Pesticide Action Network, Senegal

    Latin America: Red de Acción sobre Plaguicidas y Alternativas en México, México

    Middle East: Day Hospital/World Information Transfer, Egypt

    South Asia: Toxics Link, India

    Southeast Asia: Southeast Asia POPs Elimination Network, Philippines



    IPEP Project Management and Structure:

    There are three levels of project management; UN agencies, Global Project Management, and Regional Hubs.

    The UN agencies include UNEP and UNIDO. UNEP (in Nairobi) is the Project Implementing Agency with final responsibility for Project oversight, monitoring, and evaluation. UNIDO (in Vienna) has a closer management relationship to the Project. UNIDO will hold IPEP GEF funds, and will disburse money to various NGOs around the world who have agreed to perform Project Activities. In most cases, these disbursals will be made through the UN system and will come to the NGO in its own national currency from its country UNDP office.

    The Environmental Health Fund (EHF) will have lead responsibility for global aspects of Project management. As Executing Agency, EHF is legally responsible to UNEP and UNIDO for successful Project execution in conformity with the terms of the approved Project Brief. At the same time, EHF remains politically responsible to the IPEN Steering Committee in its execution of IPEP global management functions. The main roles of EHF in Global Project management are: to coordinate the work of the Regional Hubs; to assure the Hubs, the Expert Teams, the Project Web Site and other elements of IPEP are functioning and performing properly; to coordinate with other NGOs who have been funded to provide IPEP co-financed Project services or support; to assure IPEN Steering Committee oversight and involvement in the Project; and to manage Project interface with UNIDO and UNEP.



    IPEP Funding:


    The Global Environmental Facility provided core funding for IPEP.

    Other institutions providing funding include:

    The Government of Switzerland

    The PantaRhea Foundation







    Version: 2.0 (June 1, 2006)