This blog post draws on the presentation and remarks of Mihaela Paun, Programme Management Officer, Agrifood and Health Unit, Chemicals and Health Branch, UNEP, delivered during the GGKP webinar Activity Options for Action Plans on Cross-Cutting Issues of Specific Stockholm Convention Articles, held on 24 February 2026.
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) continue to pose serious risks to human health and the environment. Addressing these risks requires integrated approaches, which connect chemicals and waste management with broader environmental priorities such as climate action, biodiversity protection and sustainable development.
POPs contribute to long-term pollution and bioaccumulation that harm ecosystems and wildlife, while emissions from their production, use and disposal can also be linked to climate impacts. This interconnected nature of environmental challenges underscores the need to integrate chemical management into broader sustainability strategies.
National Implementation Plans (NIPs) under the Stockholm Convention provide an important opportunity to advance this integration. Although developed to guide the elimination and management of POPs, NIPs can serve as strategic platforms for strengthening chemicals and waste management more broadly, linking national action on POPs with other international agreements and policy frameworks.
“National action plans should align with sustainable development strategies, integrating chemical and POPs management.” – Mihaela Paun
NIPs as a platform for integrated chemicals management
Under the Stockholm Convention, Parties are required to develop and regularly update their NIPs. These plans already include several key elements of sound chemical management: reviews of national legal frameworks, assessments of institutional responsibilities, inventories of POPs and action plans to address them.
Because of this structure, NIPs can serve as operational platforms for advancing the objectives of the Global Framework on Chemicals (GFC) at the national level. The GFC sets global priorities for the sound management of chemicals and waste through five strategic objectives and a series of targets for 2030 and 2035. Many of these priorities – such as legal reforms, data generation, capacity-building and the promotion of safer alternatives – are already embedded in the NIP process.
This alignment creates a strategic opportunity. Rather than establishing entirely new systems, countries can build on the mechanisms already developed through the Convention and expand them to address a broader range of chemicals of concern.
Supporting the Global Framework on Chemicals
The connection between NIPs and the objectives of the GFC becomes clear when examining the framework’s strategic goals.
Objective A, which focuses on legal frameworks, institutional mechanisms and capacity development, is closely linked to the NIP process. Updating a NIP requires countries to review legislation, assess institutional mandates and strengthen technical infrastructure for chemical assessment and management. These systems, originally designed for POPs, can support the broader regulation of hazardous chemicals across their life cycle.
Objective B, which emphasizes knowledge, data and information, also benefits from existing NIP processes. POPs inventories provide detailed information on chemicals in products, production processes, waste streams and environmental releases. In addition, the Stockholm Convention’s Global Monitoring Plan (GMP) generates environmental and human biomonitoring data in many regions, including low- and middle-income countries. These systems strengthen the science–policy interface and improve transparency across chemical value chains.
Objective C addresses emerging “issues of concern,” such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) and endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Many of these issues overlap with POPs management. Countries are therefore often already addressing them through inventories, regulatory controls and substitution measures developed under their NIPs. Expanding these systems can allow governments to address additional chemicals of concern (CoC) without creating parallel structures.
Promoting safer alternatives and sustainable solutions
The Stockholm Convention requires Parties to evaluate alternatives and promote the substitution of POPs with safer chemicals or technologies. This approach aligns with Objective D of the GFC, which focuses on innovation and sustainable solutions.
NIPs apply a life-cycle perspective to chemical management, addressing production, use and waste stages. This perspective encourages the identification of safer alternatives and supports the development of sustainable chemistry and greener technologies.
The Basel Convention further complements these efforts by providing a global framework for the environmentally sound management of hazardous waste, including POP-containing materials. Measures such as extended producer responsibility (EPR) can help ensure that hazardous substances are safely separated and destroyed while supporting circular economy approaches.
Why a sectoral approach matters
One of the key developments in chemicals management is the growing use of sectoral approaches. Traditionally, international guidance has often focused on managing chemicals individually. In practice, however, it is often more efficient to address chemicals within the sectors where they are used.
Sectors such as electronics, transport, construction, textiles and agriculture are particularly relevant because they involve multiple POPs and other CoC across their supply chains. A sectoral perspective allows countries to identify overlaps, reduce duplication and develop integrated solutions for managing several substances simultaneously.
This approach is particularly important given the limited financial and human resources available for chemicals management in many countries. Sector-based assessments and action plans enable governments to focus interventions where they can have the greatest impact.
Strengthening synergies with other conventions
Another key opportunity lies in strengthening cooperation across international environmental agreements.
The Basel Convention provides the global framework for managing hazardous waste, including plastics containing POPs. Aligning NIP inventories with the Basel Convention waste inventories helps track POP-containing materials across sectors such as electronics, transport and construction and prevent them from re-entering recycled products.
The Rotterdam Convention regulates international trade in hazardous chemicals through the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure. Many POPs listed under the Stockholm Convention are also regulated under the Rotterdam Convention. Aligning NIP processes with Rotterdam import consent procedures can improve regulatory coherence and strengthen oversight of chemical trade.
Similarly, the Minamata Convention on Mercury offers opportunities for coordinated action. Mercury and POPs often occur together in sectors such as electronics, vehicles and building materials, and many emission sources release both pollutants. Joint inventories and emission control measures can therefore address multiple pollutants simultaneously.
Connecting chemicals management with climate and biodiversity goals
Chemical pollution is closely linked to broader environmental challenges. POPs are recognized as drivers of biodiversity loss, threatening ecosystems and wildlife worldwide. Integrating NIP implementation with biodiversity strategies can therefore contribute to achieving global biodiversity targets.
At the same time, many sources of POPs emissions – such as open waste burning or industrial fuel use – also emit greenhouse gases. Measures such as implementing best available techniques and best environmental practices (BAT/BEP) can therefore generate co-benefits by reducing both POPs and climate pollutants.
Chemicals management also contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Managing POPs effectively supports improved health outcomes, food safety, clean water, sustainable cities and responsible production and consumption.
Towards integrated chemicals and waste management
NIPs under the Stockholm Convention provide tested operational frameworks for managing hazardous chemicals across their life cycles. By aligning NIPs with the GFC, strengthening synergies with other environmental agreements and applying sectoral approaches, countries can develop more integrated and efficient systems for chemicals and waste management.
In this way, NIPs become strategic platforms for advancing sustainable development and protecting human health and the environment.
To learn more about the Global NIP Update project, visit Global NIP Update | Green Policy Platform.
For a deeper dive into the GGKP webinar Activity Options for Action Plans on Cross-Cutting Issues of Specific Stockholm Convention Articles, you can access the full recordings and materials here.
This article was curated by Mark Schulman, Content Editor, GGKP, and reviewed by Soomin Bae, Project Support Consultant, GGKP.
