Mrs. Lydia Essuah (second right), Marcos Orellana (second left) and officials of the EPA with the new documents.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched three documents for the effective management of chemical waste in the country.
A ten-year strategic plan and a communication strategy for the sound management of chemicals and waste were launched alongside a national action plan on Artisanal Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM).
The documents are expected to help the country address the global climate crisis and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The first document, “Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste (SMCW) in Ghana Strategic Plan (2021-2030),” contains strategies to strengthen national capacity to manage chemicals and waste throughout the lifecycle in a sound way.
This is targeted to meet the country’s relevant commitments to international climate agreements and minimise the risks to human health and the environment.
Also, the communication strategy for the SMCW has been developed to ensure the effective implementation of the 10-year strategic plan on SMCW. This strategy supports engagement participation and awareness creation targeted at mobilising stakeholders to achieve the SDGs related to the environment.
Meanwhile, the National Action Plan to Reduce and Where Feasible, Eliminate Mercury Use in Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining in Ghana,” is in partial fulfilment of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
Director, Policy Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation (PPME) at Ministry of Environment Science Technology & Innovation, Lydia Essuah launched the documents on behalf of the sector Ministry Dr. Kwaku Afriyie in Accra.
She said the launch of the documents was a key milestone in the country’s quest to soundly manage chemicals and protect the environment from destruction.
She further added that the country remained committed to the implementation of all chemicals and waste-related multi-lateral environmental agreements such as the Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm and Minamata conventions, as well as the strategic approach to international chemical management (SAICM).
Mrs. Essuah observed that the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution threatened the stability of the global ecosystem upon which humanity depended and assured the public of the enforcement of the needed regulations for the sound use of chemicals in the country.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights, Marcos Orellana, was present at the ceremony which coincided with his fact finding mission in the country.
Mr Orellana said the launch of the documents was timely as it would help the country to soundly manage chemicals whose usage contributed to environmental destruction.
Particularly, he said the national action plan on use of chemicals in the small-scale mining sector was crucial because small-scale gold mining was the largest source of emission of mercury to the environment.
“Mercury is an extremely hazardous chemical that can cross the human placenta that is persistent, it does not go away, it cannot go away; it cannot be washed away; it needs immediate action today. Every day that it passes without immediate adequate control of emissions of mercury to the environment is another day of human rights infringements and risk,” he stressed.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri