National Workshop on Industrial Chemicals under the Rotterdam Convention, and Pilot testing of the pocket guide and a training module on exemptions under the Stockholm Convention

The objective of the Rotterdam convention is to promote shared responsibility and cooperative efforts in the international trade of certain hazardous substances, to protect human health and the environment from potential harm. It aims to contribute to their environmentally sound use by facilitating information exchange and by providing for a national decision-making process on their import and export. Despite the entry into force in 2004 of the Rotterdam Convention and the progressive inclusion of industrial chemicals to its Annex III, the absence or insufficiencies of regulatory programmes for industrial chemicals in many developing countries translates into a lack of tools to effectively protect human health and the environment from the potentially harmful effects of industrial chemicals.The reduction of chemical risks is the ultimate goal of the environmentally sound management of all chemicals. Risk reduction options include fundamental arrangements such as chemical safety legislation and enforcement, as well as other basic national means for the management of chemicals, adequate labeling and responsible care and stewardship by industry.