23 August 2019. The GEF’s Least Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States Program seeks to address the sound management of chemicals and waste through strengthening the capacity of sub-national, national and regional institutions and strengthening the enabling policy and regulatory framework in these countries. It provides support to the development of public-private partnerships specifically adapted to the circumstances of LDCs and SIDs to enable the sound management of chemicals and waste.
Activities include:
- Implementing Sustainable Low and Non-Chemical Development Strategies in SIDS and LDCs;
- Promoting Best Available Technologies (BAT) and Best Environmental Practices (BEP) to reduce UPOPs releases from sectors relevant to the Minamata and Stockholm Conventions in SIDS and LDCs;
- Promoting cleaner health-care waste management based on the lessons learnt from GEF funded healthcare waste projects to reduce UPOPs and mercury releases;
- Strengthening the management system for e-waste, addressing all stages of the life cycle (i.e. acquisition of raw materials, design, production, collection, transportation and recycling) in SIDS and LDCs;
- Phasing out of mercury-containing products;
- Undertaking gender mainstreaming and project monitoring and evaluation; and
- Developing a strategy to ensure that technical assistance and investments are solidly linked to enhance countries’ ability to deal with the management of POPs and mercury in a sustainable manner.References: GEF Secretariat (2018), “GEF 7 Replenishment, Programming Directions”, Fourth Meeting for the Seventh Replenishment of the GEF Trust Fund April 25, 2018 Stockholm, Sweden
