BY SIFISO NHLABATSI
EZULWINI – A E4.8 million environmental project aimed at reducing dangerous toxic pollutants and protecting public health has officially commenced in Eswatini, with authorities describing it as a major step towards creating a cleaner and safer environment for future generations.
The five-year initiative, titled “Reduced Risks on Human Health and the Environment through the Reduction of POPs and UPOPs in Eswatini,” is funded by the Global Environment Facility through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It is being implemented by the Eswatini Environment Authority (EEA) in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs and the Ministry of Health.
The project was officially launched at The Bethel Court in Ezulwini, where appointed consultants from the University of Eswatini’s Centre for Sustainable Energy Research (UNESWA-CSER) presented a work plan to update Eswatini’s National Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Inventory and National Implementation Plan (NIP).
The updated inventory and implementation plan are expected to guide the country’s efforts in identifying, monitoring and reducing Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Unintentional Persistent Organic Pollutants (UPOPs), which pose significant risks to human health and the environment.
According to the Eswatini Environment Authority, POPs and UPOPs, including toxic chemicals such as dioxins and furans, remain in the environment for decades, contaminating soil, water and air while accumulating in living organisms. Exposure to these pollutants has been associated with cancer, reproductive complications, developmental disorders and damage to ecosystems.
The project will focus on four strategic areas, including strengthening policies and regulations to support a circular economy, improving plastics and electronic waste management systems, enhancing healthcare waste management and hazardous waste storage, and establishing a national knowledge hub complete with a dedicated project website to support monitoring and evaluation.
Environmental experts noted that one of the leading sources of UPOPs is the uncontrolled burning of waste, particularly plastics. They encouraged communities to adopt sustainable waste management practices such as reducing plastic consumption, reusing materials, recycling and disposing of waste at designated collection points to minimise the release of harmful chemicals.
The initiative also reinforces Eswatini’s obligations under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, an international treaty aimed at eliminating or restricting the production and use of hazardous chemicals that threaten both human health and the environment.
Authorities believe that updating the National POPs Inventory and National Implementation Plan will strengthen Eswatini’s capacity to manage hazardous pollutants while safeguarding the country’s natural resources, public health and environmental sustainability for generations to come.
(Courtesy Pic)
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