About project

The Republic of Belarus officially acceded to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2004. The stockpiles of persistent organic pollutants inherited by the country from the USSR include obsolete pesticides and PCB-containing equipment, PCB-contaminated soil and small quantities of PCB liquids, as well as POPs pesticides – mainly DDT and HCH. To date there are many storehouses of obsolete pesticides owned by agricultural enterprises and 5 underground storage facilities created during the USSR period in Belarus. A Toxic Industrial Waste Treatment and Disposal Facility has been established in the Chechersk district, Gomel region. The Facility’s design and construction provides for a possibility of setting up an installation for destruction of POPs wastes within its territory. Furthermore, there are outdated electrical equipment (PCB-containing capacitors and transformers) owned by Belarusian enterprises. The national legislation provides the owners with an obligation for environmentally sound storage of discarded equipment and prohibits any commercial transactions with PCB-containing equipment.

In order to fulfill the obligations under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, to which the Republic of Belarus has been a party since 2004, an international technical assistance project “GEF-6 Belarus POPs Legacy and Sustainable Chemicals Management” is currently being implemented.

The objective of the Project is to ensure the protection of public health and the environment through elimination of retained POPs legacies and the development of sustainable POPs management capacities within the framework of the sound chemicals management in the Republic of Belarus. The objective will be achieved through the implementation of activities in three components:

  1. Sustainable PCBs management;
  2. Elimination of obsolete pesticides legacies;
  3. Capacity building and planning for sustainable chemicals management.
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