Cote D’Ivoire
Toxic Waste Clean-Up Reaches Critical Stage-Donor Assistance
Now Essential
Country Facing Multi-Million Dollar Shortfall for Overseas
Decontamination Bill
Nairobi, 20 December 2006 - One of the world’s poorest
countries, struggling to rid itself of thousands of tonnes
of toxic waste dumped in its capital city from sources
overseas appears to have run out of the funds needed to
retrieve all the pollution and make it safe.
A mission, conducted by the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) in cooperation with other
UN agencies has just returned from Cote D’Ivoire learning
that the authorities there estimate a clean-up funding
shortfall of at least 15 million Euros.
The funds are needed to pay a private
company which is shipping the toxic waste and polluted
soil to France where it is being decontaminated.
The Ivorian authorities estimate that
around 9,200 tonnes of contaminated soil has been collected
costing an estimated 30 million Euros to retrieve, ship
and treat. However, the government has only been able
to secure half of the costs leaving 15 million Euros outstanding.
Meanwhile the authorities estimate that
in addition, a further 3,200 tonnes of contaminated soil
remains to be handled—the legacy of an incident that occurred
in August when a ship sailing from Europe arrived in the
country and discharged hazardous wastes disposed of in
Ivorian landfills.
Local people, alarmed at the noxious
smells, blocked trucks carrying the wastes and the pollution
was allegedly strewn in and around the capital, Abidjan.
An estimated 10 people died and thousands
more fell ill as a result of the dumping, the Ivorian
authorities claim.
Achim Steiner, UN Under Secretary-General
and Executive Director of UNEP, said: “To date the world
has watched the tragedy of Cote D’Ivoire unfold but has
so far failed to assist with the financial support the
authorities there so urgently need”.
UNEP argues that irrespective of who
will or who will not be held liable for this incident,
people of one of the world’s poorest countries-- who have
already paid dearly for this irresponsible act of hazardous
waste dumping--are now also being forced to pay the bill
for removal and clean up operations.
Mr Steiner added: “ A few weeks ago
the Ivorian government informed us that it was is having
to make tough, and what UNEP considers unacceptable choices
for a country where many people live on less than a dollar
a day including whether to pay the clean-up bill or the
wages of medical staff at local hospitals”.
“Now they say they have simply run out
of funds making it impossible for them to complete the
clean-up and safe disposal of the toxic wastes in the
Europe. Until assistance from others is forthcoming, it
is almost impossible for the Ivorian authorities to move
on towards the wider challenges such as rehabilitating
contaminated sites, cleansing contaminated infrastructure
like water supply systems and the broader human health
and humanitarian needs,” he added.
Mr Steiner said it was time for international
donors including countries in Europe and North America
to demonstrate solidarity and compassion with the people
of Cote D’Ivoire.
A Trust Fund, into which international
funds can be deposited in order to assist with the clean-up,
has been established by UNEP at the request of governments
recently attending a hazardous waste meeting at the organization’s
headquarters.
The mission, which has just returned,
was dispatched to assist Cote D’Ivoire finalize a strategic
waste plan in light of the on-going emergency.
UNEP is working in close cooperation
with the UN country team in Cote D’Ivoire. UNEP is coordinating
its activities with all relevant partners in the UN system
with a view to ensuring an efficient and harmonized response.
Background to the Incident as Communicated
to the United Nations by the Ivorian Authorities
At the early hours of Monday 21 August
2006, inhabitants of several parts of the district of
Abidjan were awoken with thick and suffocating smell.
Alerted, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry mobilized
its services whose initial investigations led to the discovery
of the dumping of some products on several sites of the
District of Abidjan. These investigations led to:
• the discovery that these products
originated from a Ship with a Panamanean flag, the «PROBO
KOALA » whose co-signatory is a company called «
WAIBS ». WAIBS was co-opted by « TOMMY »
a company specializing in the draining, maintenance and
holding of ships at the Autonomous Harbor of Abidjan to
dump the product (about 528 cubic meter, equivalent of
400 tons) on different sites around the district of Abidjan,
• the conclusion that the material dumped on the sites
were toxic in view of Laboratory analyses;
• the identification of 16 dumping sites.
The incident has become a crisis and a real tragedy from
sanitary, psychological, ecological and socio-economical
perspectives. It led to massive displacement of the residents
living near the dump sites. Public and violent demonstrations
took place throughout the district.
In order to understand the full implications
of the crisis and ensure its proper and efficient management
a Crisis committee was established within the Ministry
of Environment and Forestry on Tuesday 22 August 2006.
The Prime Minister put in place an inter-ministerial
committee on 24 August 2006.
The Attorney General opened an investigation.
Following this procedure, several people implicated in
the toxic waste dump operations were detained.
The Executive Secretary of the Basel
Convention on the trans-boundary movement of toxic waste
to which Cote d’Ivoire is party was informed with a request
for technical assistance.
In view of the magnitude of the crisis,
the Prime Minister and the Government resigned on 7 September
2006. A new Government was formed with the Ministers in
charge of environment and transport replaced by new individuals.
The heads of the customs services, the Abidjan Harbor
and the Governor of the District of Abidjan were all relieved
of their duties.
The management of the acute moment of
the crisis of the toxic waste dump between 19 August and
18 September 2006 was done on the basis of emergency plans
drawn up as appropriate by various sectoral ministries
in the absence of a comprehensive strategic plan. Each
ministry concerned acted according to their individual
mandates with coordination provided by the Inter-ministerial
Committee.
In view of the magnitude of the situation
and to enhance coordination the Government established
by decree n°171/PM/CAB of 18 September 2006, the Operational
Coordination Unit of the Action Plan with the mandate
to coordinate and evaluate activities undertaken in the
context of remediation as a result of the toxic waste
dump, ensure coherence and efficiency in the management
of the crisis caused by the toxic waste dump and operationalize
the national action plan to combat toxic waste.
In addition to coordinating the activities
of the various ministries, the Unit focused its attention
between 18 September and mid November 2006 on the collection
operations of the toxic wastes and their transport for
treatment which it contracted out to a private French
company (TREDI) of the group Séché. State
interest was handled by BNETD (a national company) and
SGS (an international company) that provided technical
and administrative control over the obligations of TREDI
while also ensuring the qualitative and quantitative supervision
of the operations/activities.
The collection operations on the 16
sites were the wastes were dumped included the removal
of contaminated soils, decontamination and/or destruction
of containers and open canals and sewers.
Priority of the Objective of the Strategic
Plan 2006-2009
The economic impacts of the operations
of the emergency phase estimated at 25 billion francs
CFA, in a context of heighten socio-political tension
and economic crisis led Côte d’Ivoire to share its
constraints with the international community.
The 8th Conference of the Parties to
the Basel Convention on the control of trans-boundary
movement of hazardous waste held in Nairobi, Kenya 27
November - 1er December 2006 gave the opportunity to Cote
d’Ivoire to make a strong case to the Parties to be assisted
in the management of the crisis.
Having noted the magnitude of the problem and the limited
response from the international community, the Conference
of the Parties adopted Decision No. UNEP/CHW.8/CPR.25
of 1er December 2006 inviting:
• Parties to the Basel convention as
well as other countries in the position to do so, to provide
technical and financial assistance to Cote d’Ivoire to
help the country implement its emergency plan, in particular,
the implementation of the following activities:
- Immediate removal of the toxic wastes and contaminated
soils and materials,
- Complete evaluation of the level of contamination of
the various ecosystems and population and the impacts
of these contamination;
- Investigation to establish liability;
• The Executive Director of the United Nations Environment
Programme to assist in the mobilization of financial resources
needed for the above measures ;
• The Executive Director of the United Nations to keep
the Parties informed on progress in financial resources
mobilization.
To ensure speedy implementation of this
decision, the Government of Cote d’Ivoire and the Executive
Director of UNEP agreed to the establishment of a trust
fund within UNEP to receive contributions from Parties.
It is in view of the above that the Government of Cote
d’Ivoire has revised its national strategic plan 2006-2009
to handle toxic waste dumped from the Probo Koala and
their impact on the environment and health of the population.
This plan is also an emergency plan to mobilize funds
and assist Côte d’Ivoire in its effort to handle
the catastrophe.
II. National strategic plan
The overall objective is to propose «a strategic
national framework 2006-2009 to manage toxic wastes dumped
from the Probo Koala and their impacts on the environment
and the health of the population». The specific
objectives with respect to the overall objective are to
define strategies, activities and resources needed in
the short, medium and long terms for five focus areas:
• The decontamination of the site, monitoring
and protection of the environment;
• Carrying for and protection of the population against
any exposure risks to toxic wastes;
• Adequate medical care and monitoring of the patients
as well as long term sanitary monitoring of the effects
of exposure to the toxic wastes;
• Secure the food chain, including water supply for the
populations following the toxic waste dump ;
• Monitor and evaluate the plan.
Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson
