Representatives from the Norwegian Ministry of Environment (MoE), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Norwegian Embassy, alongside the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), Ministry of Health (MoH) and local environmental protection bureau (EPB) officials all contributed to the opening of the three-day seminar.
In her speech, Norwegian Environmental Counsellor Ms. Nina Rør spoke highly of the 15-year-long bilateral environmental cooperation and the common understanding resulting from it.
She predicted that “POPs and mercury are policy areas where we both can benefit from further co-operation,” since these hazardous wastes “pose a great global threat to human health and to the environment, as they accumulate in the environment and the food-chain and can cause various forms of irreversible long-term damage.”
“Norway is a strong supporter of stronger international co-operation in reducing risks to human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals, since the problem cannot be solved by any country alone,” emphasized Ms. Rør.
Her statements were echoed by Mr. Wen Wurui, Director General of MEP’s Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO), who revealed that the long-term collaboration between China and Norway on international convention implementation, water management, air pollution control and solid and hazardous waste treatment have forged the basis for this seminar.
Under the Sino-Norwegian environmental cooperation, the SINOPOP Project has helped to establish low-cost labs on rapid POPs analysis in Chongqing, conduct pioneer monitoring on POPs pollution sources and environmental media, work out county- and province-level action plan/strategies of reducing and eliminating POPs emissions, and build up a reporting system for POPs management. This project has provided important experiences for other parts of China in the implementation of the Stockholm Convention, according to Mr. Wen.
He pointed out specifically that as MEP’s first big bilateral cooperation project on Mercury pollution control, the SINOMER Project, which was mainly carried out in Guizhou Province between 2006 and 2009, has led in identifying the emission sources of atmospheric Hg, mapping and analysis of local mercury pollution scenario and impact, control analysis on coal-combustion related Hg contamination, as well as technology selection and policy options for pollution control.
The SINOMER Project has been forward-looking, well in advance of the launch of the international negotiations on a legally binding instrument on mercury, thanks to Norway’s support in time, added Mr. Wen.
Both projects serve as the basis for discussions of the workshop, with partners from both countries having made detailed presentations on them. The Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) is the leading agency from Norwegian side for both projects, while FECO functions as the implementing agency from the Chinese side, with key support from Tsinghua University, Chinese Academy of Sciences and local EPBs.
About ten well-established Norwegian experts made extensive presentations on international and national policies, initiatives in scientific monitoring and research, innovative technology and challenges in the pollution control of POPs and Mercury at the seminar.
They come from Ministry of Environment, Norwegian Climate and Pollution Agency (KLIF), Norwegian Polar Research Institute (NPI), Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), SINTEF (The Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research), and the National Veterenary Institute of Norway.
In total, over 60 participants attended the seminar, including EPBs officials from Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing, Zhejiang, Hebei, Guizhou, Guangdong, Hunan, Shanxi, Sha’anxi, Sichuan, Fujian and Xiamen.