Green Customs to be recommended as a means for cooperation on chemical conventions.

The Green Customs Initiative was recognised at the UNEP Governing Council as a means to facilitate cooperation with Customs and the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions.

One of the two major themes discussed at the25th session of the UNEP Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum, held in Nairobi, Kenya (16 to 20 February 2009) was: International Environmental Governance and United Nations Reform - IEG: Help or Hindrance? During deliberations on this theme, issues concerning multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) were discussed, focusing on enhancing cooperation and coordination between the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions. It was reported that a set of recommendations was adopted by the Ad Hoc Joint Working Group on Enhancing Cooperation and Coordination Among the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions to improve cooperation and coordination at the national, regional and global levels, to enhance the implementation of the conventions and to improve effectiveness and efficiency in administering the conventions through joint administrative arrangements and services.

The Basel and Rotterdam conventions have already adopted the recommendations and it is expected that the Stockholm Convention will also do so at its 4th meeting, in Geneva in May 2009. This would make the recommendations operational and UNEP would be invited: "to develop programmatic cooperation that would support the implementation of the three conventions in areas of common concern, such as sustainable development, trade, Customs (such as through the Green Customs initiative), transport, public health, labour, environment, agriculture and industry."

For more information see: http://www.unep.org/gc/gc25/index.asp