Background and Purpose
In 2009, a "brainstorming meeting on “Environmental and Other Factors Needed for Evaluating and Managing Risks Posed by Pesticides at Local Level” was held with stakeholders. Stakeholders included those responsible for pesticide management at the country level and in international development agencies. The meeting recommended the development of guidance materials addressing environmental factors and concerns linked to pesticide use and that UNEP establish an expert group to assist in this process.
In 2011, UNEP developed Terms of Reference for an expert group and established the Scientific Expert Group on Chemicals and the Environment (SECE) to provide scientific advice and guidance on environmental issues linked to the sound management of chemicals. The SECE provides the UNEP and its stakeholders a resource of expertise that can be drawn upon to address particular environmental issues concerning chemicals (e.g. pesticides management; assessment of specific chemicals, including methodologies, and management of specific environmental issues or ecological endpoints).
Documents
- SECE Terms of Reference
- SECE - Full member list
- SECE - Core members
Guidance Documents
- Mapping local factors in the identification of ecosystems potentially affected by chemicals - application of the Regional and Relative Risk Model
- Pollution prevention and reduction to protect ecosystem services of water bodies Socioeconomic Factors and Analysis for Pesticides Management
- Methods and Tools for Environmental Fate Modelling of Organic Chemicals – a Practical Approach
- Simple approaches for identifying sensitive ecosystems and their vulnerabilities to chemical stressors using the ECOSENS Model
- Chemicals and the Environment: Socioeconomic Factors and Analysis for Pesticides Management
These documents can be used separately but complement each other to form the basis for a holistic assessment of the local determinants if applied in an integrated way.
Cases and Studies
- Pilot tests in Zambia of two SECE Guidance Documents on Chemicals and the Environment: "Methods and Tools for Environmental Fate Modeling of Organic Chemicals - a Practical Approach" and "Identification of Ecosystem Sensitivities";
- Evaluation Report of Pilot tests in Zambia of two Guidance Documents on Chemicals and the Environment: "Methods and Tools for Environmental Fate Modelling of Organic Chemicals - a Practical Approach" and "Identification of Ecosystem Sensitivities";
- Evaluation Report of feasibility testing in Tanzania of two SECE Guidance Documents on Chemicals and the Environment: "Ecosystem Services, Water Pollution and Water Scarcity" and "Socioeconomic Factors and Analysis for Pesticides Management";
