A new international body addressing the development of pollutant release and transfer registers will hold its first meeting on 20 March 2006 in Ghent, Belgium. The International PRTR Coordinating Group aims to serve as the successor of the Inter-organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC) PRTR Co-ordinating Group, an interagency body founded by United Nations agencies and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in 1996 which ceased operation in 2005. The new coordinating group will discuss the plan of action of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) adopted in Dubai by more than 100 governments in February 2006. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe will serve as interim secretariat of the group.
