Vanuatu National Action Plan to reduce releases of Unintentional Persistent Organic Pollutants 2018-2022.

Abstract

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are toxic chemicals that can travel long distances through air and water and accumulate in the fatty tissues of humans and other animals. These POPs do not degrade quickly over time, and consequently, potentially expose people to serious health issues including cancer, birth defects and immune system impairments. As a result of anthropogenic releases of POPs to the environment since the 1940s, POPs are now widely distributed over large regions, including the Pacific Islands. To address the global environmental threat of POPs, the Stockholm Convention on POPs was adopted in May 2001 and entered into force on 17th May 2004. The Stockholm Convention commits Parties to reducing, and where feasible, eliminating the production and environmental releases of POPs. Vanuatu became a Party to the Convention on 15th December 2005. For more information on the Stockholm Convention, please visit http://chm.pops.int/.