Workshop Photos

Date: 13-15/4/2002
Place: Cairo/Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA)

WORKSHOP AIMS

The aims of this workshop were to present the Egyptian Hazardous Substances Information and Management System (HSIMS) to the participants, to exchange information on Hazardous Substances management in the different countries and to discuss the possible transfer of the Egyptian System to neighboring countries.
This workshop is a follow up of a first meeting which took place in Switzerland from 18-22 June 2001.

SCOPE AND OUTCOMES OF THE WORKSHOP

During the workshop the participants:

• Received first hand information on the functioning and of the content (Data Bases) of the system
• Shared experiences and lessons learned
• Expressed their visions and needs in respects of Hazardous Substances (HS) Management
• Discussed possible future activities.

All participants confirmed that in every country:

• The HS management is a priority
• There is a strong need for an efficient HS information system and coordination amongst all parties concerned
• It is urgent to get tangible results

All participants expressed:

• Their willingness to take advantages of the outcomes of the existing HSIMS
• Their commitment to undertake all necessary actions in their respective countries to prepare the development and implementation of a similar information system.
• Their agreement to define and plan their future immediate actions in respect of HS Management according to the recommendations issued at the end of the workshop.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Principles of cooperation
The SDC delegates gave an overview to the participants of some basic principles:

• Any demand for support from SDC should really correspond to a need for the receiving country (needs driven and not resources driven).
• The applicant should clearly show its commitment to actively support the project implementation and to achieve tangible results.
• The applicant should offer a substantial in kind contribution.
• The applicant should define clear objectives and measurable outcomes.
• SDC is willing to promote the so called "south to south cooperation" and is ready to consider to support initiatives at regional level.
• SDC is ready (if requested) to coordinate the transfer of the existing HSIMS technology and know how to neighboring countries, in a full cooperation with the Egyptian side

Issues to be addressed

• Adequate legal framework.
• Adequate institutional framework with an explicit governmental policy and firm commitment of all stakeholders.
• A task force or a steering committee should actively support and follow the project development and implementation.
• Adequate technical capabilities.
• Adequate Financial scheme.
• Identification of adequate mechanism to insure the HS management sustainability: the short term sustainability is in principle supported by donors but long term sustainability request some self financing mechanism (taxes, incentives, …)
• A "step by step" implementation process should be adopted to optimize the use of the human and financial resources available. This principle should be applied from the project definition to the system installation.

NEXT STEPS

HSIMS development
The participants agreed on the following action plan :

• In the coming weeks Jordan, Lebanon and Syria will get a special access to the existing HSIMS. This will give them the opportunity to review all components and functions of this System and to select those that will be included in their proposal.
• Jordan, Lebanon and Syria will take all necessary actions to establish a preliminary proposal to SDC as discussed above.
• In order to finalize each proposal, joint missions with SDC representatives and technical experts will be organized to Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The composition of the technical team will depend on the needs expressed in the preliminary proposal.
• Based on the preliminary proposal and on the recommendation of the joint missions, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria will submit to SDC a formal proposal.

Regional Network
From now on the participants agreed to meet regularly. The meetings will take place approximately every 6 months in a different country.
The purpose of this network is to exchange information on HS, to start developing a regional strategy for HS management and to promote capacity building at regional level. Lebanon proposed to host the first meeting.