A Critical Review of Effectiveness of the Regulations in India on Designated Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the Stockholm Convention

Abstract

India signed the Stockholm Convention on 14 May 2002, ratified it in 2006 and rolled out the National Implementation Plan (NIP) in 2011 to phase out 12 persistent organic pollutants (POPs) well-known as dirty dozen. The NIP paved the way for the better management of POPs chemicals with suitable actions. The NIP has also charted out key programme areas to phase out the POPs from India in addition to an action plan to build institutional capacity, improve POPs monitoring, promote information exchange of parties concerned, promote Best Available Techniques (BAT) and Best Environmental Practices (BEP), and promote research and development. During these years, the government of India promulgated regulations in order to evaluate the status and hazard of newly listed POPs in the convention in the Indian context. Some of the major achievements the country has achieved during the last few years included banning of POPs pesticide for production, export, and use; promotion of an alternative to phase out of DDT for vector control; adoption of suitable alternatives for POPs, and addition of many new POPs to the NIP for banning. Moreover, India has also promulgated the Regulation on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) Rules, 2018 to deal exclusively with seven POPs chemicals, namely chlordecone, hexabromobiphenyl, hexabromodiphenyl ether, and heptabromodiphenyl ether, tetrabromodiphenyl ether and pentabromodiphenyl ether, pentachlorobenzene, hexabromocyclododecane, and hexachlorobutadine . However, there are certain areas that need to be improved for better management of POPs including deciphering information on POPs, effective implementation of the rules, strengthening the capacity of the stakeholders, and information on the newly designated POPs.