A joint UNECE - University of Geneva project has been awarded 48,000 SFr by the Geneva International Academic Network (RUIG-GIAN) to assess the cost of establishing national pollutant release and transfer registers. The project seeks to develop a cost guide to assist Parties to the UNECE Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) with implementation and to provide information on related cost-saving options.[1]<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
The Kiev Protocol on PRTRs was adopted at the 5th Environment-for-Europe Ministerial Conference in May 2003. It seeks to enhance public access to information on the environment, facilitate public participation and contribute to pollution prevention and reduction. The Protocol has been signed by 36 countries and the European Community.
With ratification of the Protocol now expected as early as 2007, the Declaration of the Meeting of the Parties in May 2005 called for the immediate prioritisation of implementation efforts of the Protocol. It expressed an urgent need for capacity-building efforts aimed at implementing the Protocol, particularly those targeting the East European, Caucasian and Central Asian (EECCA) countries. The proposed study aims to satisfy this demand.
The GIAN grant will allow a joint UNECE-University of Geneva research team to undertake extensive fieldwork to collect data and to develop a user-interface to simplify access to and use of the information. The guide would also aid countries considering accession to the Protocol to rapidly evaluate the costs of their potential obligations.
“The model will help Signatories prepare for implementation of this important instrument of sustainable development. It should also advance the take-up and diffusion of PRTR systems around the world,” said Michael Stanley-Jones, UNECE Environmental Information Management Officer.
"Member States can use the model to explore cost-saving possibilities for implementing the Protocol," added Laura Altinger, UNECE Economic Analysis Officer and Project Director.
GIAN promotes interdisciplinary partnerships between Geneva-based academic institutions and international organizations.
For further information about this project, please contact:
Dr. Laura ALTINGER (Project Director)
Economic Affairs Officer
UNECE Economic Analysis Division
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland
Tel.: +41 22 917 24 76
E-mail: [email protected]
Michael STANLEY-JONES
Environmental Information Management Officer
Aarhus Convention Secretariat
UNECE Environment and Human Settlements Division
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland
Tel.: +41 22 917 24 42
E-mail: [email protected]
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[1] For the text of the Protocol, see
http://www.unece.org/env/pp/prtr/docs/PRTR%20Protocol%20English.pdf
