In Cooperation With The World Bank, An Agreement Signed To Launch Chemical Pollution Reduction Projects At A Value Of $20 Million
Baghdad / NINA / - The Ministry of Environment signed an agreement to launch chemical projects in cooperation with the World Bank and with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), amounting to 20 million dollars, which includes the launch of two important projects to reduce the effects of chemical pollution in Iraq.
Environment Minister Nizar Amidi said, during the official announcement of the signing of the agreement today, Thursday, that "these two projects are the highest in international support from the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility, bringing the total financial support as a grant to $20 million, focused on two axes, the first is to start the activities of the national implementation plan for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, to which Iraq officially joined under Law 45 of 2015, as this project will be implemented in coordination with all national partners in the Ministries of Electricity, Agriculture, Industry, Minerals and Municipalities.
In turn, Adviser to the Prime Minister for Environment and Climate Affairs, Ali Al-Lami, confirmed that "the project will focus on the safe environmental disposal of expired and damaged pesticides in some stores of the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as sacral oils and transformers contaminated with this oil amounting to 1,300 tons, with full institutional support for all relevant ministries to implement the Stockholm Agreement, preparing strategies, updating relevant laws and legislation, and rehabilitating laboratories to develop the possibility of conducting analysis and measurements of persistent organic pollutants.
He added, "The other activity is the highly polluted sites project in the liberated areas / the second phase/, where the Ministry will complete, with the precedence and support of the World Bank, the first phase, which included the evaluation of dozens of highly polluted sites in 6 governorates after their liberation from the terrorist ISIS, and in light of the results of the evaluation in the first phase, sites will be selected for environmental cleaning and rehabilitation, in a way that enhances the support of local communities to restore stability to these areas and provide a clean and safe environment for the continuation of reconstruction work in the liberated governorates. We also hope that the two projects will be implemented with logistical and technical support from the United Nations Development Program. / End
