Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, 41 IPEN participating organizations (POs) from 36 countries participated in the 8th edition of the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week on October 25 to 31, 2020. Civil society groups conducted activities, including policy meetings, public information dissemination and media outreach, to push for the adoption and/or enforcement of strong lead paint laws.
Following the emergence of COVID-19, the President of Mozambique, Hon. Filipe Nyusi, declared a state of emergency on 1st April 2020. He announced a number of measures to contain its spread, including prohibition of public and private gatherings and closure of all external leisure and entertainment establishments, schools, and borders to neighbouring countries, among others. He also put in place financial measures to support the private sector to face the economic impact of the pandemic. The emergency was extended until the end of 2020, when this report was being prepared.
Highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) are a threat to human health and the environment, with significant impacts on developing and transition countries. In 2005, more than 100 governments at the Fourth International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM4) agreed that HHPs are an issue of global concern and reached a consensus resolution to give priority to promoting agro-ecological alternatives in the process of implementing the strategy on HHPs developed by FAO-UNEP-WHO.
This report is an assessment of the non-chemical pest management approaches used by smallholder vegetable farmers in the Lake Victoria region. The report documents the challenges faced by farmers practicing such approaches, as well as the general challenges facing adoption of agro-ecology in the region. The study was conducted as a case study in the counties of Siaya and Migori in the Lake Victoria region, south western Kenya. Information used in this report was gathered through literature review, interviews, field visits, and photography.
The Gujarat government decided to resume economic activities during the COVID-19 lockdown period in the state as per the Central Government Guidelines, and it received a widespread response. On the first day of re-opening of the industrial units on April 20, around 6,000 industries restarted their activities, and about 40,000 to 45,000 workers restarted their jobs. However, industrial associations said that not all those who got permission to re-open were able to start operations due to a labor shortage.
Under the situation of movement restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, there was the likelihood of increased generation of solid waste as a result of increased consumption, with increased accumulation due to working from homes and surges in household waste due to increased online shopping. New kinds of wastes, such as used face masks and hand gloves, empty hand sanitizer containers and other plastic materials, have also been introduced into the environment, and such wastes have become somewhat ubiquitous, with fly-tipping (illegal dumping) and improper disposal.
To prepare for this project, The Center “Cooperation for Sustainable Development” (CSD) carried out a search and analysis of all available materials related to the coronavirus infection. Statistical data on the spread of the COVID -19 in Kazakhstan, measures taken by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the introduction of a state of emergency and the current regulatory legal acts were analyzed.
For this project, Front Commun pour la Protection de l’Environnement et des Espaces Proteges (FCPEEP) reviewed documentation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, describing and briefly commenting on the situation in the South Kivu province, DR Congo; analyzed the impacts of the pandemic on the proliferation of chemicals and waste; designed public awareness materials to alert the general public of the hidden potential hazards from chemicals extensively used during the coronavirus health crisis; and shared the results of the study with relevant stakeholders.
