What is the project about?

The objective of the project is to protect human health and the environment globally as well as locally through addressing POPs legacies including elimination of POPs Pesticide and PCB stockpiles, and initiating clean up of associated POPs and chemical pollutant contaminated sites, as well as dealing with longer term PCB phase out consistent with the country’s Stockholm Convention obligations, reducing U-POPs release in major industrial sectors , and providing targeted institutional, regulatory and technical capacity strengthening, all within a sound chemicals management framework.

What has been the situation?

Turkey signed and ratified the SC in 2001 and 2009 respectively. The first NIP, prepared with GEF assistance, addressing the inventories and strategic action plan for the initial twelve POPs, was developed by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in the period 2007-2010, and officially transmitted to the Stockholm Convention’s Secretariat on April 5, 2011. Currently Turkey has developed draft of updated NIP with GEF assistance along with UNIDO to reflect the current status of POPs management and address the new annexed POPs included in the amendments to the SC that came into force in 2010. The updated NIP has been completed in final draft form and is in the formal national endorsement process. Submission to the Convention Secretariat is expected in 2015. The draft NIP update contains a comprehensive concordance table correlating SVC provisions and obligations with current Turkish legislation as a well as an action plan to fill any gaps that exist. Turkey does not hold any specific exemptions nor has registered for any declared acceptable purposes under the provisions of the SC. The country is current with SC second round reporting requirements.

What is our mission?

The project is directed by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. It will meet this objective by eliminating a large POPs pesticide stockpile consisting of 3,000 t of pure HCH and associated high concentration POPs waste and at least 350 t of PCB stockpiles as well as supporting assessment, cleanup and monitoring of priority POPs contaminated sites involving representative range of site contamination situations, remediation approaches and clean-up financing modalities. The project will also demonstrate the sustainable treatment of up to 150 cross contaminated PCB transformer units by means of de-halogenation technologies, will provide technical assistance for setting up a national plan for treatment of PCB contaminated transformers, and will provide technical assistance for the establishment of BAT/BEPs among priority U-POPs emitting sectors Additionally the project will support the qualification of needed hazardous waste infrastructure and national technical capability for the ongoing management of POPs and other chemical hazardous wastes as well as supporting the strengthening of institutional and regulatory capacity within an overall chemicals management framework.

How are we doing this?

Component 1: Elimination of Current POPs Stockpiles and Waste which directly addresses the management through to elimination of remaining identified POPs pesticides and currently available (existing or being phased out) PCB stockpiles and wastes in the country. This includes in particular a very large single stockpile of essentially pure POPs pesticides (HCH) with the intent of elimination of a globally significant volume of POPs. Additionally, the component supports the qualification of POPs destruction infrastructure in Turkey, specifically HTI facilities that are required for the country to deal with the growing amounts of chemical and particularly chlorinated waste being generated in Turkey. The Component is defined by three major Outcomes described in detail below corresponding to the POPs pesticides elimination, PCB stockpile elimination, and POPs/Chemicals destruction infrastructure development and qualification. Overall, the successful completion of this component represents a substantial material step in placing Turkey in a similar position to most developed countries with respect to dealing with these types of POPs legacies and in respect to fulfilling the requirements of Article 6 of the SC.

Component 4: Management Capacity for Contaminated Sites covers supporting the implementation of the regulatory framework now being put in place to deal with contaminated sites, particularly those related to chemical and POPs waste. This target support for key technical management tools along with undertaking demonstration assessment, clean-up design, containment, and monitoring of several priority POPs and chemicals waste contaminated sites and analysis of potential sites and implementation of remediation studies in pilot scale. This targeted technical assistance delivered in complementarilywith extensive support from private sector in this area. As described above in Section I, Turkey has embarked on an ambitious program that will begin to systematically deal with the contaminated sites issue on a comprehensive basis. This component of the project will link to the implementation of this program and specifically the regulatory framework being introduced through two principle Outcomes and associated Outputs/Activities as described below. Based on the above, the Component has been designed with two components.

Outcome 4.1 will provide technical assistance with partners focus at the national level.. It is aimed at providing key technical support in some specific areas involved in thetesting , namely operationalizing the key Page 57 of 161 systems provided for by the national regulations, development of site clean-up through pilot applications; supporting awareness, and training in several key subject areas where capacity strengthening is needed...

Outcome 4.2 will involve a combination of general support related to site assessment, clean up design and technology studies administered through MoEU during implementation of its regulations and more targeted specific pilot clean up initiatives that will serve to demonstrate the application of a variety of priority POPs and chemical contaminate situations which can potentially be replicated. The scope of GEF support will focuson the site specific demonstration activities on selected priority sites under agreements with site holders, with resources directed to the required front end detailed site assessment/clean up design work as well as initiation of clean-up work, largely through immediate containment and monitoring measures. The parallel private resources and committed from BOSCH and MOEU’s in kind contributions would provide substantive support for more the general site assessment, technology study, supervision and technical clearance activities being undertaken directly through MoEU’s implementation process associated with the new regulations.

Component 5: Institutional and Regulatory Capacity Strengthening for Sound Chemicals Management covers supporting technical assistance related to improvement of the general legal/regulatory framework and technical capacity for hazardous waste and contaminated sites management within the developing national chemicals management framework. This Component encompasses the final stage of Turkey’s efforts to be become fully compliant with the SC from an institutional and regulatory perspective. It is based on a strategy that adopts a path of harmonization of the national legal and regulatory environmental framework for sound chemicals management with that of the EU. The development of the current GEF project, starting in 2011, with its emphasis on dealing with POPs and chemical waste legacies underpins this strategy and substantively facilitates its effectiveness. This is accomplished through operationalizing the evolving advanced legal and regulatory framework and strengthened practical technical capacity required to support it, all allowing achievement of primary SC compliance on the ground. These technical capacity aspects generally reflect the focus of GEF resources as reflected in the other components of the project detailed above. The detailed project design inclusive of cost estimates is elaborated by Component against each outcome and output/activities in Table 10 below. Within the context of GEF projects, “in-kind co- financing” refers to goods, services and transactions not involving money. Examples are when a government entity and other co-financing partners provide office space, vehicles, staff time, physical facilities/buildings, land, etc. as additional resources which can be used by the project to achieve its objectives. “Cash co-financing” is relevant in projects that deal with private sector entities which benefit from the GEF grant. In such cases the GEF expects that, in addition to benefitting from the GEF grant which covers various pilot technology demonstrations, private sector entities can also co-finance such demonstrations by contributing their companies’ resources that are invested in their enterprises by their owner(s) and/or shareholder(s). In financial terms it is invested money that, in contrast to debt capital, is not repaid to the investors in the normal course of business.

How will Turkey benefit?

The national development benefits essentially track those reflected above, namely elimination of all or some significant national environmental legacies, institutional strengthening of national environmental management capacity and development of supporting technical capability all related to HW, contaminated sites and U-POPs. This includes the development of new and upgraded a national HW management infrastructure in the form of environmentally sound POPs destruction and contaminated PCB equipment decontamination capability, industrial process modernization and expanded human resource capability in the field through training opportunities provided. The addition of this general infrastructure capacity is critical needed to sustain the country’s industrial development. Overall, this brings the strategic development benefit of moving Turkey to a level on a par with fully developed countries and particularly its EU neighbours in terms of modern environmental management capability in relation to POPs, HW generally, contaminated sites management and control of U-POPs releases. Economically, the project also advances the countries potential as an exporter of environmental goods and services, particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean, Black Sea Regions as well as the Middle East and Central Asia.