Some 90% of household responsibilities in Indonesia are performed by women – making them much more exposed to harmful household chemicals than men. Recent studies show that perfluorinated compounds - toxic chemicals used in consumer applications – can be present in human breast milk in the country.

This example illustrates the increased health impact that harmful chemicals have on a woman and her family. It was part of a discussion on hazardous chemicals and gender during a side-event at the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions Conference of Parties (COPs) held in Geneva on 3 May.

The event showcased lessons and best practices for ensuring that gender issues are taken into account when the Conventions are implemented.

National Implementation Plans for reporting progress under the Stockholm Convention on restricting and/or eliminating Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) involved a significant amount of gender considerations, it was revealed, with 91% of plans submitted including at least one reference to gender and/or women key words.

However, along with the positive, the report also indicated that work still needs to be done to better mainstream gender into the three Chemicals Conventions. Specifically, significant efforts are needed given that only 2% of National Implementation plans under the Stockholm Conventions characterized women as agents of change - recognising the positive health impacts that gender measures have on society as a whole. Furthermore, only one Party mentions a gender and/or women keyword in its National Report to the Basel Convention.

As regards the Conference of Parties themselves, reports put together by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature showed that there was a 5% increase in government delegate and NGO observer representation by women between the 2013 and 2015 editions, indicating a move towards parity.

Short excerpts were played from a documentary film on gender and POPs in Nigeria. The film highlights the hazardous effects of POPs, and sheds light on the gender perspective of the problem.

The side event concluded with the award ceremony for the recipients of the Gender Pioneer for a Future Detoxified Award. Award winners from all UN regions and backgrounds were recognized for their work promoting gender equality in the implementation of the BRS Conventions. Both male and female recipients were honoured for their dedicated work in various parts of the world.

One of the 11 winners of the award was a young entrepreneur from Egypt. 26 year-old Yara Yassin started a social enterprise employing marginalized women in Egypt, called Up-fuse. The organization empowers local women while producing bags and luggage made from up-cycled plastic bags – combining gender empowerment and environmental preservation.

The gender side-event was supported by the Federal Government of Germany and the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was organized by the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, along with Women in Europe for a Common Future – a network of women’s and environmental organisations.

For further information please contact alexandra.francis-gower@unep.org or tatiana.terekhova@brsmeas.org 

Wearing natural fabrics can help people change their attitude to health, environment and consumption patterns, Uzbek designer and textile artist Alfia Valieva tells UN Environment in an interview as part of the Dialogue Corner.

When fed with mulberry leaves, silk worms produce a cocoon of the material around themselves at a remarkable pace. A 3-4cm cocoon can produce 800-1200 metres of fiber thread which can be wound together to make fabric for clothes.

Alfia produces her own clothes using this natural fabric and colours them using paint made from organic pomegranates, onions, nuts and other fruits to produce stunning outfits prized at international exhibitions.

Despite her unique skill, “everyone can try and go to a shop and buy natural fabric and create clothes of his or her own or practice patchwork,” Alfia says.

Doing so is a “safe and environmentally-friendly” choice, the designer points out - with less or no pesticides used for example. Buying natural fabrics such as linen and silk can also bring direct economic benefits to farmers of natural fabrics that are typically less well off, she notes.

“Governments can facilitate this by supporting folk-crafts including weaving and silk breeding, as well as by saving and developing national cultural heritage,” Alfia adds.

Furthermore, “natural fabrics are good for our health - they allow the body to breathe,” the designer explains. Indeed, silk is 97% composed of proteins, 3% made up of fat and wax, and contains 18 amino acids which have a positive effect on our metabolism.

Even though the silk is more expensive than artificial fibres, “demand for them keeps growing because there are more and more people who care about their health and the environment,” Alfia notes. Why not get creative and do something for yourself and the planet too.

To read the full interview, click here.
For more information contact ekaterina.tegina@unep.org 

UN Environment is together with partners supporting Georgia in a bid to become self-sufficient for energy, boost food security and improve health and safety under a new national green growth strategy being developed.

Meanwhile, around 40 small and medium-sized companies, associations and government experts from the country dealing with, using or storing chemical substances have been trained to do so in a safe way.

Sustainable choices for a green economy transition During high-level consultations held in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on 28 April, five deputy economy, environment, agriculture and education ministers - as well as experts from other ministries, NGOs, international organisations and academia - discussed how the green growth strategy development can be supported in Georgia and outlined the scope and objectives of collaboration.

UN Environment will support the development of an economic modelling analysis as part of this, demonstrating how green policy choices will bring tangible social, environmental and economic benefits at macroeconomic and sectorial levels. Discussing concrete sustainability challenges of the agriculture and energy sectors in Georgia, meeting participants were introduced to System Dynamics – a modelling approach for understanding complex real-life issues and creating sustainable policy responses, that will help guide decision makers designing Georgia's green future. The meeting recommended that an inter-ministerial working group would be established to allow for cross-sectoral and inter-governmental collaboration of the national green economy process as a whole.

Detox for companies
A Safer Production training was meanwhile held on 20-21 April introducing firms, chemical service providers, academic experts and government officials were meanwhile presented with tools developed by UN Environment to improve chemical hazard management and help companies identify and address hazards and risks related to the manufacturing, processing and handling of chemical substances and reduce the associated social, economic and environmental impacts.

These tools provide guidance for example on developing a chemical inventory, classifying chemical hazards, identifying health, environmental, social and economic risks and potential accident scenarios, or how to develop a chemical emergency plan with a range of stakeholders.

Participants were also introduced to the eco-innovation approach, whereby lifecycle thinking is applied to a business’ entire value chain. This allows companies to find novel solutions that make them more competitive and sustainable.

They can stay ahead of the game before the entry into force of new policies or regulations for example – with potentially stricter ones now on the horizon, following the Georgia-European Union Association Agreement signed in 2014. Both meetings were held in the framework of the EU-funded Greening Economies in the EU's Eastern Partnership Countries (EaP GREEN) project, jointly implemented by UN Environment, OECD, UNECE and UNIDO.

Under EaP GREEN, UN Environment supports the six Eastern Neighbourhood countries in ensuring that Green Economy and Sustainable Consumption and Production principles are included in economic and development policies, and supports the implementation of the Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production demonstration activities led by the UN Industrial Development Organisation.

The green growth strategy consultations were organised by UN Environment in collaboration with the Georgian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development and the country’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection. The latter also partnered with UN Environment to organise the Safer Production training.

For more information on EaP GREEN click here. For further details on the meetings please contact rie.tsutsumi@unep.org

UN Environment is to fly its flag at the 2017 edition of the world’s premier ocean racing competition, with the aim of raising awareness on marine litter and garnering pledges to prevent it at source.

The Volvo Ocean Race sets sail from Alicante, Spain on 22 October and see teams battle the elements to travel an epic 46,000 nautical miles around the globe.

During stops made by the boats on route, ‘Ocean Summits’ will be held gathering decision-makers, scientists, educational bodies, the private sector and local community for a dialogue on the problem of marine litter and how it can be fought. Some 2.4 million people visited equivalent villages set up as part of the race during its last edition.

“We all know we are on the wrong track, polluting our oceans to an extent no-one thought possible... it’s obvious we need to change and this is a partnership made in heaven,” said UN Environment Head Erik Solheim when signing a Memorandum of Understanding to be a sustainability partner with Volvo Ocean Race Chief Executive Officer Mark Turner in Geneva on 27 April. Country pledges will be brought to the Environment Assembly in December to spur further actions and showcase solutions. UN Environment will tap into story telling during the race and add the importance of restoring our Ocean for future generations.

There could be more plastic in the oceans than fish by 2050 in terms of weight. UN Environment earlier this year therefore launched a ‘Clean Seas’ campaign to urge countries, consumers and corporations to halt marine plastic at source, with ten countries already having joined the effort. Indonesia, for example, has pledged to reduce the marine litter it produces by 70 percent by 2025.

Italy on board
Italy is meanwhile the latest country to join the five-year Clean Seas campaign. During a G7 workshop on marine litter held in Rome on 20-21 April, the Italian Minister of Environment Gian Luca Galletti shared his country’s decision by signing a letter to Mr Solheim. The move “strengthens Italy’s commitment towards the fight against this threat and the promotion of the awareness and knowledge of this phenomenon,” said Mr Galletti.

The Mediterranean area is considered as one of the most affected by marine litter in the world, with its floating plastic concentrations comparable to those reported for the five oceanic garbage patches.

For more information on the Volvo Oceans Race contact robert.few@unep.org or lisa.svensson@unep.org and for more on the G7 workshop click here or contact hoda.elturk@unep.org